High power laser and cathode structure thereof

Abstract

A cathode structure for gas lasers comprising a flat plate of non-conducting material positioned in the laser in spaced relation to the laser anode to define a discharge region therebetween, a two-dimensional array of metal sub-electrode rods passing through the plate and having their upper ends lying flush with the surface of the plate, a block of dielectric material positioned below the plate and containing a series of transverse channels therein, electric current conductors lying in the channels and adapted for connection to a power supply, the lower ends of the said rods passing through openings in the block into the channels to define a predetermined uniform gap between the ends of the rods and the electrical conductor, and a liquid electrolyte solution filling the channels and electrically connecting the sub-electrode rods and the conductors.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.