Method for discriminating anomaly in gas composition and discharge excitation type gas laser oscillator

Abstract

A discharge excitation type gas laser oscillator has a discharge excitation unit for exciting a laser gas by discharge in a discharge tube to generate induced emission of laser light, a high-frequency power supply unit for supplying power to the discharge tube, and a controller unit for controlling output current of the high-frequency power supply unit. The laser oscillator further has an output detecting section that detects actual current value of the high-frequency power supply unit supplying power to the discharge tube at an arbitrary pressure lower than the high pressure during the steady-state operation, at the start of the laser oscillator, after the laser gas begins discharge excitation at a pressure lower than the high pressure during steady-state operation, an output comparison section that compares the detected actual current value with a normal current value that has been detected when the gas composition of the laser gas is normal at the same pressure as the actual current value is detected; and a power supply control section that discriminates, if the difference between the actual current value and the normal current value is equal to or greater than a preset value, that the gas composition of the laser gas is abnormal, and stops output of the high-frequency power supply unit.