Coherent, Inc.

Coherent General

Donald E Smith

Michael W Sasnett

Wayne S Mefferd

Joseph L Dallarosa

Phillip J Gardner

A CO.sub.2 slab laser is disclosed having a pair of spaced apart electrodes defining a rectangular discharge region. RF energy is fed through the electrodes to excite the CO.sub.2 gas. A pair of mirrors are located adjacent the electrodes to define the resonant cavity. A recombinant surface is placed between the ends of the electrodes and the mirrors to quench oxidizing species generated by the discharge before they reach the mirrors. In this manner, the degradation of the mirrors is reduced so that the high power performance of the laser can be maintained. The recombinant surfaces can be defined by forming extension regions at the end of the electrodes between which the discharge is minimized. Alternatively, a mirror shield having a beam transmitting aperture can be used to quench the oxidizing species.

Slab laser with enhanced lifetime

A laser resonator system including an optical resonator whose side wall has an orifice through which gas may enter the resonator's interior, and may subsequently flow along the resonator's longitudinal axis. An elongated electrode (which preferably is an anode) is positioned at the orifice in electrical communication with the entering gas so that the projection of the electrode's tip on the plane of the orifice does not coincide with the center of the orifice. In a preferred embodiment, the electrode's longitudinal axis is aligned generally perpendicular to the plane of the orifice. In another preferred embodiment, two such electrode-orifice pairs are provided and are separated by a small distance along the resonator's axis. The orifice positions are preferably on opposite sides of the resonator, so that they are separated by an azimuthal angle substantially equal to 180.degree. with respect to the resonator tube's longitudinal axis. The relative position and orientation of each electrode-orifice pair results in an improved, flatter gas velocity profile downstream from the orifice.

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Donald E Smith