Energy dissipation in the electrodes of CuBr laser pulsed discharges has been studied in a gaseous environment relevant to a copper vapour laser and with discharge length scaling. The power lost in the electrodes significantly increases not only with a decrease in electrode separation but also more compounds are added to the medium. The total energy losses in both electrodes range from similar to 10% to similar to 30% of the storage capacitor energy. This contributes much to the low efficiency of a copper vapour laser. The result cannot be explained by a simple redistribution of electrical power between the discharge plasma and the electrodes proportionally to their impedance-pre-electrode processes must also be considered. [References: 12]
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