Coaxial type laser oscillator

Abstract

Abstract PURPOSE:To make the discharge current of the glow discharge vary stably by a method wherein an auxiliary electrode is provided on the outside of the discharge tube and laser medium gas is preexcited by silent discharge, which is produced between the auxiliary electrode and at least one side of a pair of electrodes. CONSTITUTION:The auxiliary electrode 9 of a discharge tube 1 is provided with close contact on the outside of the discharge tube 1 in the vicinity of at least one side of a pair of electrodes 3A and 3B, for example, the electrode 3A on the cathode side located on the side of the upper stream of the flow of laser medium gas 2, which flows through the interior of the discharge tube 1. Silent discharge 11 is generated by impressing high AC voltage between the electrode 3A on the cathode side and the auxiliary electrode 9 from an AC power source 10. The laser medium gas 2 preexcited by the silent discharge 11 on the side of the upper stream of the discharge tube 1 flows through the interior of the discharge tube 1 and reaches the electrode 3B on the anode side. Glow discharge 5 is dropped its discharge current in the laser medium gas 2 preexcited, thereby enabling to obtain the stabilized glow discharge.

Inventors

• 👤 Yoshihide Kanehara
• 👤 好秀 金原

Bibliographic Details