Electron transport in gas discharge lasers

Abstract

We have developed a set of computer codes to treat the transport of the high‐energy (primary) electrons in gas discharge lasers of the Los Alamos type. Such electron transport requires no new physical ideas, but must be applied without any of the common restrictions. In contrast to existing theory, we may not specialize to total turning without energy loss; we may not specialize to energy loss without turning or tortuous paths; we are interested in observations other than just those made far from the interaction region; and we must include applied electric and magnetic fields. Our codes meet these requirements and still permit the computation of cases of interesting complexity with the investment of a modest amount of machine time. Several examples are reported as verification of the computation and as its application to laser design.