Banding and Plasma Arc Issues and Striking Voltage
Explains how striking voltage thresholds in DC excited CO2 laser tubes cause banding and plasma arc fan-out at low power settings, with visual examples.
UPDATE: According to SPT, the fanning of the arc is not necessarily going to effect the output.
This is how the banding presented itself:
This is from a Thunder Laser USA Nova 51-100 outfitted with an SPT C100 tube matched with a Zye MYJG100 LPSU which has been calibrated to the tube. This video shows the fan-out of the arc around the anode.
This behavior is not because of a fault, but rather the inherent properties of DC excited CO2 laser tubes. These tubes have a striking voltage (ionization threshold) at which they will fire. The larger the tube the higher the threshold.
Here is more on DC excited laser tubes: DC Excited CO2 Laser Tubes
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