A pulsed laser according to the present invention comprises a charge terminal, mutually-opposing first and second main discharge electrodes, a pulse generation capacitor connected between the first main electrode and the charge terminal, a plurality of peaking capacitors connected in parallel between the first and second main discharge electrodes, and a plurality of diodes connected in parallel with the plurality of peaking capacitors and oriented to suppress reverse-bias components of main discharge current flowing between the first and second main discharge electrodes. Thereby, reverse current flowing between the first and second main discharge electrodes can be minimized without sacrificing laser oscillation efficiency.