Title :
CO2 laser performance with a distributed gold catalyst
Author :
Macken, John A. ; Yagnik, Suresh K. ; Samis, Michael A.
Author_Institution :
Optical Eng. Inc., Santa Rosa, CA, USA
fDate :
7/1/1989 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The performance of a CO2 laser was improved by coating the inside wall of the discharge tube with a discontinuous gold film. In the presence of the discharge, the gold acts as an ambient temperature catalyst to reform decomposed CO2. The gold coated laser delivered 122 W/m for both sealed-off and flowing operation. CO2 decomposition levels are presented as a function of input power, gas pressure, and temperature. Atomic oxygen, generated by the discharge, appears to be required for gold to exhibit any detectable catalytic activity
Keywords :
carbon compounds; catalysts; discontinuous metallic thin films; gas lasers; gold; Au; CO2 decomposition levels; CO2 laser; O; ambient temperature catalyst; coating; discharge tube; discontinuous gold film; distributed gold catalyst; gas pressure; gold coated laser; input power; inside wall; temperature; Atomic beams; Cathodes; Gas lasers; Gold; Laser excitation; Platinum; Power generation; Power lasers; Pump lasers; Temperature;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
