DocumentCode
760791
Title
High power and high focusing CWCO2 laser using an unstable resonator with a phase-unifying output coupler
Author
Takenaka, Yushi ; Kuzumoto, Masaki ; Yasui, Koji ; Yagi, Shigenori ; Tagashira, Motoshi
Author_Institution
Mitsuibishi Electr. Corp., Hyogo, Japan
Volume
27
Issue
11
fYear
1991
fDate
11/1/1991 12:00:00 AM
Firstpage
2482
Lastpage
2487
Abstract
A high-power and high-focusing continuous-wave (CW) CO2 laser with a novel unstable resonator was developed. This resonator contains a step-wise variable reflecting output coupler named the phase-unifying output coupler and a total reflector. The laser was excited by a capacitive-barriered AC discharge called a silent discharge. A linearly polarized laser beam with a diffraction-limited divergence angle of 0.55 mrad was obtained. Very stable CW laser operation at an output power of 5 kW was achieved with a threshold discharge power of 10 kW and a slope efficiency of 18%
Keywords
carbon compounds; focusing; gas lasers; laser cavity resonators; 10 kW; 5 kW; CO2; capacitive-barriered AC discharge; diffraction-limited divergence angle; high focusing CWCO2 laser; high-power; linearly polarized laser beam; phase-unifying output coupler; silent discharge; slope efficiency; step-wise variable reflecting output coupler; threshold discharge power; total reflector; unstable resonator; Gas lasers; Laser beams; Laser excitation; Laser modes; Mirrors; Power lasers; Reflectivity; Ring lasers; Solid lasers; Yagi-Uda antennas;
fLanguage
English
Journal_Title
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
Publisher
ieee
ISSN
0018-9197
Type
jour
DOI
10.1109/3.100887
Filename
100887
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