Characteristics of pulsed discharges in copper bromide and copper HyBrID lasers

Comparative measurements of discharge electrical waveforms have been carried out with a Ne-H/sub 2/-CuBr laser, a Ne-CuBr laser, and a Cu HyBrID laser, each of the same size and geometry, and under the same conditions of excitation. From the general similarity of the electrical characteristics of the HyBrID laser and the Ne-H/sub 2/-CuBr laser, together with a reappraisal of the role of hydrogen, it is concluded that the main characteristics of these lasers (high efficiency, high average output power, and special features of their excitation pulse waveforms) can all be qualitatively explained if we assume that HBr and not hydrogen (molecular, atomic, or ionic) is the responsible agent which acts via the process of dissociative attachment of electrons to HBr during the interpulse period and during the early stages of the discharge current pulse.