Fast axial flow 25-kW CO 2 laser with unstable resonator for industrial applications

Electrical properties of narrow-gap slab rf discharges in a high-pressure fast-axial-flow CO 2 laser

“…In this paper we operate the device at high intra-cavity pressures in order to reduce gas flow choking. In cw mode, the laser has successfully worked at intra-cavity pressures of up to 500 Torr with a discharge power density of 200 W.cm3 , which is four to five times higher than that of conventional fast-flow lasers [2]. Studies have also investigated high repetition pulsing of the device, with an aim to operate at pulse duration lower than 50 j.ts, where conventional slab waveguide and fast-flow devices cannot run due to pulse merging [3].…”

Spatially resolved measurement of the electrical properties of the rf discharge in a fast-axial-flow laser with a rectangular cross section

“…Radio frequency (rf) discharge excitation is now common for both fast gas flow [1,2] and diffusion cooled CO 2 lasers [3][4][5], giving the advantages of increased discharge power density, improved stability and ease of pulse modulation at rates up to typically 5 kHz. For static gas diffusion cooled lasers, the rf discharge allows new configurations with large planar waveguides to operate sealed-off at a laser power now reaching 2.5 kW †.…”