Title :
CW 20-kW SAGE CO2 laser for industrial use
Author :
Nagai, Hiroto ; Hishii, M. ; Tanaka, Mitsuru ; Myoi, Yasuhito ; Wakata, Hitoshi ; Yagi, Toshinori ; Tabata, Norikazu
Author_Institution :
Adv. Mater.-Process. & Machining Technol. Res. Assoc., Osaka, Japan
fDate :
12/1/1993 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A CW CO2 laser with power output of more than 20 kW is described. The laser consists of a discharge excitation system named SAGE (Silent-discharge Assisted Glow discharge Excitation) and a ZnSe or KCl transmissive window for extracting high-quality beams with axisymmetric intensity profile from a confocal positive-branch unstable resonator. SAGE is effective in forming a uniformly distributed and stable discharge in a large-volume, high-pressure gas excitation medium. Together with appropriate high-pressure gas conditions and a properly selected zeolite to adsorb water vapor in the laser chamber, the transmissive windows enable gas-sealed operations. The structure of the 20-kW SAGE laser and its performance characteristics are described. The maximum CW power of 26.5 kW with an efficiency of 16.5% is attained with the ZnSe window, and a 20.3-kW power output is extracted through the KCl window. Long-term gas-sealed operation at a CW power level of 20 kW has been demonstrated for a period of 65 h
Keywords :
carbon compounds; gas lasers; glow discharges; laser cavity resonators; optical windows; 16.5 percent; 20 to 26.5 kW; 65 hr; CO2; CW 20-kW SAGE CO2 laser; KCl; KCl transmissive window; Silent-discharge Assisted Glow discharge Excitation; ZnSe; ZnSe transmissive window; axisymmetric intensity profile; confocal positive-branch unstable resonator; discharge excitation system; efficiency; gas-sealed operations; high-pressure gas conditions; high-quality beams; industrial use; large-volume high-pressure gas excitation medium; long-term gas-sealed operation; maximum CW power; performance characteristics; power output; transmissive windows; uniformly distributed stable discharge; water vapor adsorption; zeolite; Aerodynamics; Gas lasers; Glow discharges; Laboratories; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Optical design; Power lasers; Yagi-Uda antennas; Zinc compounds;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
