Laser Corporation of America

M John Yoder

James P Reilly

A flowing gas laser of the kind normally operating in the glow discharge mode and having a glow discharge region through which the gas flows while the glow discharge occurs, employs one or an array of flow smoothing screens disposed in series in the gas flow path in a manner that enables the input power loading to be increased without causing arcing in the electric discharge of the lasing gas. The screens are disposed upstream of the glow discharge region and cause smoothing of small scale turbulence in the gas flow. The screen closest to the discharge region is spaced from the beginning of that region by a distance not less than ten times the distance between adjacent holes of the screen. Successive screens in the series array are spaced at intervals sufficient to enable the requisite flow smoothing by each screen to occur before the flow encounters the next screen of the array.

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Andover, MA, United States of America

M John Yoder