GAS DISCHARGE PLASMA TUBE HAVING A MULTITURN PRIMARY WINDING

1,249,096. Discharge apparatus; lasers. INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP. 19 March, 1970 [7 April, 1969], No. 13234/70. Headings H1C and H1D. A gas discharge device for exciting a gas into a plasma comprises a closed loop tube 10, 12 containing a gas, and a plurality of electrically conductive layers 16, 18, 22 separated by insulating material and connected in series. The tube 10, 12 is of circular cross-section and made of glass or ceramic. The gas filling may be argon, chlorine or oxygen. The layers 16, 18 and 22 are of copper separated by insulating material (not shown) which is interrupted at the locations of conductive members 20 and 24 connecting the layers in series between input connectors 14 and 26 connected to a capacitor 28. The layers form a three turn coaxial primary winding enabling a damped discharge to be produced without requiring a large capacitor. The leakage inductance is essentially independent of the turns ratio. Brewster windows may be provided at the ends of tube portion 10 to form an ion laser.