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Abstract

A device and method for generating and guiding an electric discharge current including a first electrode, a second electrode and a material arranged between the first and second electrodes. The device and method involve the use of a laser for generating photons having energies equal to the energy between two excited electronic states of the material. The photons fill a region of the material from the first electrode through the material to the second electrode, ionizing the region of the material between the first and second electrodes. A voltage generating unit connected to the first and second electrodes applies a voltage between the first and second electrodes thereby generating the electric discharge which follows an ionized path in the region between the first and second electrodes. A solenoid is arranged around the housing so that the magnetic field which it produces is oriented approximately along the ionized path, thereby providing improved confinement of the electric discharge.

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First Claim