The stability of the active medium of RF-exited CO2 lasers with gold as catalyst

Using mass-spectrometric investigations the gas composition of the active medium of sealed-off cw RF-excited CO₂ waveguide lasers have been studied. It has been found that a low degree of CO₂ dissociation and a laser power improvement can be achieved by means of a gold catalyst in the laser discharge volume. The conditions for long operational lifetimes of these lasers are described. Received: 21 December 1999 / Revised version: 1 May 2000 / Published online: 6 September 2000     

Diffusion of excited state molecules in FIR- and CO2-lasers

Both standing waves in laser oscillators and spatially inhomogenous cross sections of laser beam and pumprate cause a non-uniform distribution of excited state molecules in longitudinal and transversal direction, respectively. This spatial hole burning however is smoothed by diffusion of the excited molecules. The effect of diffusion is investigated theoretically for an optically pumped far infrared laser as well as the corresponding CO₂ pump laser. It is found, that the remaining spatial hole burning in the direction of wave propagation is negligible within CO₂ lasers but not within FIR lasers. Concerning the transversal direction it can be shown that in the FIR laser diffusion takes no effect, whereas the transversal distribution of the excited molecules in the CO₂ laser is significantly influenced by diffusion.FIR ring lasers avoid longitudinal spatial hole burning, which leads to the common assumption that they use the active medium more efficient than conventional standing wave lasers, hence delivering higher output powers. This expected advantage is levelled out to a great extent by diffusion.     

Optimization of the CO2:N2:He Ratio in the Active Media of Continuous-Wave Electric-Discharge CO2 Lasers

It is shown that the optimum ratio between the main components CO₂:N₂:He of the active medium of continuous-wave electric-discharge CO₂ lasers depends on the temperature of the active medium. Continuous-wave CO₂ lasers can operate effectively at high temperatures of their active medium (T 1000 K) if in their composition the fraction of N₂ molecules is increased as compared to the fraction of CO₂ molecules (CO₂:N₂ < 1:15) and the fraction of He atoms is decreased (He n< CO₂ + N₂).     

High-power high-pressure pulsed CO2 lasers

The results of investigations and development of high-pressureCO ₂ lasers are considered. It is shown that the high-pressure active medium allows radiation pulses to be formed with smooth tuning of frequency and duration over wide ranges. Data on small-size wide-apertureCO ₂ lasers with an output pulse energy up to 5 kJ are presented. Institute of High-Current Electronics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 8, pp. 74–77, August, 1999.     

On the opto-voltaic measurements in CO and CO2 lasers

We observed and compared the opto-voltaic signals in CO and CO₂ lasers. The signals are obtained capacitively from the water cooling jacket as a low voltage source not influencing the current circuit. We observed from measurement that the output power and the so-called optovoltaic input power have a distinct relationship depending on laser current and cavity parameters. It will be shown that opto-voltaic detection is a very sensitive method especially for CO lasers.     

Theoretical investigation of the kinetics and of the energy characteristics of electron-beam-controlled discharge lasers

Mathematical simulation of the physical processes in an active medium is used to carry out detailed theoretical investigations of the kinetics and of the lasing characteristics of electron-beam-controlled (EB) discharge lasers operating on vibrational-rotational transitions of the molecules C0₂, CO, H₂, and HD. The power, energy, efficiency, and lasing spectrum are obtained as functions of the composition of the active medium and of the pumping conditions (the value of E/N, the power and duration, the spatial homogeneity). The influence of the isotopic composition of the carbon monoxide on the lasing characteristics of a CO laser is studied. The restrictions connected with the breakdown of the active medium by its own radiation are investigated for CO₂, H₂, and HD molecules.This article is a report of the results of theoretical investigations of electron-beam-controlled discharge lasers performed at the Quantum Radiophyiscs Laboratory of the Lebedev Institute in 1973–1977.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P. N. Lebedeva Akademii Nauk SSSR, Vol. 116, pp. 7–53, 1980.     

Mode structure of hollow dielectric waveguide lasers

The mode structure of hollow dielectric waveguide lasers with free space sections and flat mirrors is studied theoretically and experimentally. The study covers the fundamental mode and the three most important higher order modes, and graphs are given which identify regions of high mode discrimination in the parameter space. Calculated coupling losses are verified experimentally by detailed studies of the output power of CO₂ lasers as a function of resonator geometry. The intensity profile inside and outside the resonator is calculated, and the profile outside the resonator is compared with experiments for the fundamental mode as well as for the higher order modes. It is shown that in general the fundamental mode is non-Gaussian, and that drastically different output characteristics are obtained for different choice of output plane. The paper identifies design criteria for obtaining single line and single mode oscillation over a wide tuning range, even in the densest region of the CO₂ laser line spectrum, and this is exemplified by a spectroscopic application.Supported by the Danish Science Research Councils under grants no. 5.17.4.6.19 and 5.17.4.1.23 and by FLS airloq     

Lasers for materials processing: specifications and trends

An overview is given of the types of lasers dominating the field of laser materials processing. The most prominent lasers in this field are the CO₂ and the Nd: YAG laser. The domain of CO₂ lasers is applications which demand high laser powers (up to 30 kW are available at present), whereas the domain of Nd:YAG lasers is micro-machining applications. In the kilowatt range of laser output power, the two types of lasers are in competition. New diffusion-cooled CO₂ laser systems are capable of output laser powers of several kilowatts, with good beam qualities, while still being quite compact. The output power and beam quality of Nd:YAG lasers has been improved in recent years, so that Nd:YAG lasers are now an alternative to CO₂ lasers even in the kilowatt range. This is especially true for applications that demand optical fibre transmission of the laser beam, which is possible with Nd:YAG laser light but not with the longerwavelength light emitted by CO₂ lasers. The main problem in solid-state lasers such as Nd:YAG is the thermal lensing effect and damage due to thermal stresses. In order to reduce thermal loading, cooling has to be enhanced. Several alternative geometries have been proposed to reduce thermal loading and, by this, thermal lensing effects. There are now slab and tube geometries which allow much higher output powers than the conventionally used laser rods. A very new scheme proposes a thin slab whose cooled side is also used as one of the laser mirrors, so that thermal gradients occur mainly in the direction of the beam propagation and not perpendicular to it, as is the case in the other geometries. As well as CO₂ and Nd:YAG lasers, semiconductor laser diodes are very promising for direct use of the emitted light or as pump sources for Nd:YAG and other solid-state lasers. When packaging together thousands of single laser diodes, output powers of several kilowatts can be realized. Major problems are collimation of the highly divergent laser beams and cooling of the laser diode bars.     

A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO2 laser using high frequency pre-ionization technique

High power industrial multibeam CO₂ lasers consist of a large number of closely packed parallel glass discharge tubes sharing a common plane parallel resonator. Every discharge tube forms an independent resonator. When discharge tubes of smaller diameter are used and the Fresnel numberN ≪ 1 for all resonators, they operate in waveguide mode. Waveguide modes have excellent discrimination of higher order modes. A DC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ laser is reported having six glass discharge tubes. Simultaneous excitation of DC discharge in all sections is achieved by producing pre-ionization using an auxiliary high frequency pulsed discharge along with its other advantages. Maximum 170 W output power is obtained with all beams operating in EH₁₁ waveguide mode. The specific power of 28 W/m is much higher as compared to similar AC excited waveguide multibeam CO₂ lasers. Theoretical analysis shows that all resonators of this laser will support only EH₁₁ mode. This laser is successfully used for woodcutting     

Theoretical prediction on the wavelength-temperature shift in pulsed TE CO2 lasers

The wavelength-temperature shift observed in pulsed TE CO₂ lasers is discussed theoretically by means of Six-temperature model rate equations for tunable TE CO₂ lasers. Numerical calculations of the temperature-wavelength shift in a pulsed TE CO₂ laser with a simple plano-concave stable resonator, whether excited by conventional low-inductance fast-discharge scheme or by a long-pulse Pulser/sustainer discharge scheme, show that the laser output wavelengths are within the 10P branch as the ambient temperature varies from 228 to 338 K, but will change as the ambient temperature varies. The laser output wavelengths will move to the transition lines with longer wavelengths in the 10P branch as the ambient temperature increases and vice versa. The calculated results also illustrate that near the ambient temperature of 310 K, the laser is more likely to operate on multi-transition lines. Considering this wavelength-temperature shift, the chilling device adopted in high-power high repetition rate TE CO₂ lasers is important in maintaining a stable laser output spectra as well as a stable laser output power. The numerical results also suggest that a frequency agile resonator is highly recommended if stable laser output spectra are required in TE CO₂ lasers.     

Experimental research on axisymmetric folded-combined cavity CO2 laser

Rationality and feasibility of axisymmetric folded-combined cavity CO₂ laser which is reported in this paper have been proved by principle experiments. The laser lays a foundation to manufacture higher power CO₂ lasers whose output power can easily reach 1 kW. Faculas at different positions in free space and facula of nine beams which pass through the beam focusing optics have been obtained. Analyses of the experimental results are made. These analyses lay a foundation for beam transformation, transmission and shaping.     

The influence of misalignment of an axisymmetrical folded-combined CO2 laser on output power

The influences of misalignments of an axisymmetrical folded-combined (ASFC) CO₂ laser on the output power are studied in detail. The new cavity axes are established by using the misaligned matrixes corresponding to the misalignments of the output mirror and the discharge tube, and the diffraction losses of the cavity and the output powers are calculated. It is shown that the influences of the misalignments on the output power are significant when the misalignment angle of the output mirror exceeds 20 s. These calculated values afford references for the design of ASFC CO₂ lasers.     

Dynamical analysis of acousto-optically Q-switched CO2 laser

A compacted size high power CO₂ laser has been developed using an acousto-optically (AO) Q-switch. Performance characteristics have been investigated as a function of output mirror transmittance. The theory of six-temperature model for CO₂ lasers has firstly been utilized to analyze the dynamical process in the AO Q-switched CO₂ laser. This theory perfectly explains the behavior of energy transfer between different molecules in laser gain medium, and describes the shape of pulse laser. The calculated pulse waveforms are in good agreement with the experimental result. Both the experimental and theoretical results present that the optimal value of output mirror transmittance is 39%. Under this condition, the measured peak power is 4750 W and pulsed width is 160 ns, which is consistent with the calculations. Six-temperature model is a perfect theory for CO₂ laser kinetics, which will lay a theoretical foundation for the laser optimum design.     

CO2 laser drives extreme ultraviolet nano-lithography — second life of mature laser technology

It was shown both theoretically and experimentally that nanosecond order laser pulses at 10.6 micron wavelength were superior for driving the Sn plasma extreme ultraviolet (EUV) source for nano-lithography for the reasons of higher conversion efficiency, lower production of debris and higher average power levels obtainable in CO₂ media without serious problems of beam distortions and nonlinear effects occurring in competing solid-state lasers at high intensities. The renewed interest in such pulse format, wavelength, repetition rates in excess of 50 kHz and average power levels in excess of 18 kiloWatt has sparked new opportunities for a matured multi-kiloWatt CO₂ laser technology. The power demand of EUV source could be only satisfied by a Master-Oscillator-Power-Amplifier system configuration, leading to a development of a new type of hybrid pulsed CO₂ laser employing a whole spectrum of CO₂ technology, such as fast flow systems and diffusion-cooled planar waveguide lasers, and relatively recent quantum cascade lasers. In this paper we review briefly the history of relevant pulsed CO₂ laser technology and the requirements for multi-kiloWatt CO₂ laser, intended for the laser-produced plasma EUV source, and present our recent advances, such as novel solid-state seeded master oscillator and efficient multi-pass amplifiers built on planar waveguide CO₂ lasers.     

气体激光器中的类透镜效应分析

本文讨论了类负透镜介质一般曲面镜光学谐振腔,并用来分析气体激光器中的热透镜效应。对平凹腔连续波二氧化碳激光器进行了模式分析。结果表明,热透镜效应对输出功率和频率特性影响相当大,对基模输出激光器的影响最为突出。最后,简单地讨论了离子气体激光器和某些其它激光器中的可能热透镜效应。     

Noncollinear phase-matched four-photon mixing of CO2 laser radiation in germanium

Noncollinear four photon mixing of two TEA CO₂ laser beams in germanium at room temperature has been used to obtain phase-matched generation of step tunable radiation in the 8.7 μm region which is of interest for the uranium isotope separation. Using an 8.3 cm long crystal of germanium, peak output power of ≈10kW (corresponding to 1 mJ per pulse) was obtained at 8.7 μm with 3 MW peak input power from each of the two CO₂ lasers operating at 9.6 μm and 10.6 μm.     

Study of dielectric corona pre-ionization in hybrid TEA lasers

In this paper a theoretical analysis of single mode hybrid CO₂ lasers is studied that to describe the process of the dynamic emission in this lasers types and based on the Landau – Teller six-temperature model for the CO₂-N₂-He-CO system. The main discharge region is considered as a time dependent nonlinear RLC circuit. The electric circuit equations (including the ionization rate equations), the equations of laser (including stored energy density in CO₂ modes) and equations of laser intensities are coupled and solved numerically. Then the effects of the ionizer dielectric parameters on the output laser intensity are obtained. Application of this model gives more output energy than that have obtained by the previous works.     

Influence of the electric field frequency on the performance of a RF excited CO2 waveguide laser

An analysis is presented of the effect of the RF frequency on the active media of CO₂ waveguide lasers. It is found that the characteristics are improved with increasing RF frequency because the space charge sheath width decreases with increasing excitation frequency. We also found that the sheath width decreases with the discharge current; this fact was never discussed before. The higher the exciting frequency the higher is the maximum input power of the discharge in the stable low current mode. It is attractive to extend the input power while keeping the discharge in this mode. Finally, a stabilizing excitation technique is described for the inherent unstable region of the discharge.     

Promoting the Range and Range Resolution of a LIDAR (DIAL) System Using a Suitable Pinhole Plasma Shutter

Pulsed transversely exited atmospheric (TEA) CO₂ lasers, employed extensively in various applications such as light detection and ranging (LIDAR), have a pulse duration of about a microsecond due totheir nitrogen tail. In order to promote the measurement accuracy and the mean power of the laser pulse, the pulse duration should be shortened. In this research, we present the details of making a passive pinhole plasma shutter for a LIDAR (DIAL) system, which shortens the pulse duration of CO₂ lasers from 1.5 μs to 25 ns in air at atmospheric pressure. This instrument increases the range resolution of the LIDAR system from 225 to 3.75 m. Also we show the results of investigation of the clipped pulse duration of the microsecond CO₂ laser pulse using aluminum and copper pinhole metal targets with different pinhole diameters (1.5 and 1.8 mm) and at various laser output energies (338 and 309 mJ). Our experimental results show that the aluminum pinhole is more suitable than the copper pinhole for shortening the nitrogen tail of the CO₂ laser pulse with a larger output average power. Thus, the range of the LIDAR system, which is proportional to the logarithm of the output pulse power, is increased.     

Passively Q-switched laser performance of a diode-pump mixed Nd:Lu<Subscript>0.15</Subscript>Y<Subscript>0.85</Subscript>VO<Subscript>4</Subscript> crystal

A diode-pumped passively Q-switched Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ laser with a GaAs output coupler is demonstrated. By using a mixed crystal Nd:Lu_0.15Y_0.85VO₄ as laser medium, the passively Q-switched laser can generate shorter pulse width with higher peak power in comparison with the passively Q-switched Nd:LuVO₄ or Nd:YVO₄ lasers under the same laser cavity. At the incident pump power 11.9 W, the minimum pulse width of 3.23 ns and the maximum peak power 1.67 kW can be obtained. The average output power and the pulse repetition rate of the laser are also measured. The experimental results show that the mixed crystal is a promising laser medium for shorter Q-switched pulse with higher peak power.