DE3028415A1 - Carbon di:oxide wave guide laser - uses mirrors mounted on bellows end covers for accurate alignment and decoupling of thermal expansion of body - Google Patents

Abstract

The laser body (10) is formed as a cylinder made of ceramic material and has bores (14,15) for resonator rods (12), water cooling, gas reservoir and electrodes. Central to the laser body (10) is the bore hole for the capillary (13), and in addition, radial bores serve as electrode inlets and for connection of the gas reservoir to the capillary (13). At both ends of the body (10), the mirror holders are glued or fixed and fulfill the function of gas reservoir cover plates. Each mirror mount is so constructed that it firstly acts as a centralisation for the resonator skeleton rods, and secondly carries the resonator mirror (18) allowing satisfactory adjustment to one another and to the capillaries. They also decouple the thermal expansion of the laser body (10) and resonator skeleton (12) since they are mounted on bellows (19). The quartz rods are protected from the environment and are shock proofed which allows the laser to be used in mobile operation.

Description

The invention relates to a C02 waveguide

laser with high amplitude and frequency stability, its resonator consists of materials with low thermal expansion and the laser body with higher Thermal expansion is mechanically decoupled.

Waveguide lasers known to date have a manufacturing and embodiment relatively complicated and expensive construction and require additional elements for water cooling. As a result, these devices not only require increased material and Component requirement, but in particular increased space and weight ratios.

The present invention is based on the object of a laser to create of the type mentioned, which eliminates the above disadvantages, without major Effort can be produced and the resonator skeleton receives shock-proof, so that the Laser can be used mobile.

This task becomes surprisingly simple and reliable met by the measures set out in the claims, in the following Description is an embodiment is explained, which is also shown in the figures of the drawing It shows Fig.l a longitudinal section through the proposed laser body, 2 shows a side view of the laser body according to FIG.

Fig.l 'Fig.3 a cross section through an end portion of the laser body with attached mirror support, 4 is a view of the connection side of the mirror carrier to the laser body.

Fig.l and 2 show a laser body 10 in natural size .Dieser is made, for example, of a ceramic material (a1203) as a cylindrical solid body shaped, which with bores 11 for the resonator skeleton rods 12 with spacers 12a, for the gas reservoir 14 and optionally for water cooling 15 and the Electrodes 26 is formed with their sealing plates 26a. In the center of the laser body 10 is the hole for the capillary 13.Weite.rhin has this body Radial bores 17 for the electrode feed and for connecting the gas reservoir bore 14 are used for capillary 13. In the latter case, the outer part of the radial bore closed or sealed again up to the gas reserve.

As a result of this configuration, the quartz rods 12 are now of the resonator skeleton Protected against environmental influences and stored insensitive to shocks, whereby the laser is especially suitable for mobile use, and in many cases the Previously to be arranged externally, because in the present case some of the bores 11 serve as so-called gas reservoirs 14, of which - as already mentioned - bores 17 lead to capillary 13.

At the two ends of the laser body 10 designed in this way, the Mirror holder 16 attached - for example by gluing or other conventional metal-ceramic connections - So that the previously required to cover the gas reservoir 14 cover plates omitted, as the mirror holders take over this function at the same time.

The design of this mirror holder is now made so that they form the centering for the resonator skeleton rods 12 on the one hand, and the one on the other Carry resonator mirror 18 and at the same time these mirrors perfectly to each other and adjust to the capillary 13. This and the mechanical decoupling enables the known construction as a so-called tombac bellows cover. The bracket and adjustment of the laser mirror takes place in a manner known per se the mirror holders fulfill the two functions of decoupling thermal expansion of the laser body from the resonator and the centering of the laser body and thus the Capillaries with respect to the resonator.

This is to operate a laser with high amplitude and frequency stability However, if the requirements are reduced, the resonator skeleton rods 12 and the metal bellows 19 are omitted, the mirror support plates 16 then firmly with it the laser body 10 can be connected. This then creates additional holes 11 free for the gas reserve and / or cooling or electrodes the mirror holder still has the function of the electrode for the gas discharge in the laser capillary 13th

The overall laser production is further simplified by these measures, in particular in terms of assembly and element integration, since the elastic bellows has an outer diameter of the circular laser body can be easily connected, the mirror adjustment is also easily accessible from the outside and made with the fully assembled device can be.

If cooling is required for laser operation, this is at the above-described body no problem, because it only needs the coolant connections to one or more of the bores 11 and their closure at both ends and the integration of the cooling is done. Is a divided gas discharge path with additional Elektro'dc 26 provided or should If the mirror holder does not serve as electrodes at the same time, one of the holes 11 Pick up the required electrodes in the center of the laser or at the ends of the laser Parts of the bore 11 not intended for the gas discharge are thereby covered by cover plates 26a blocked. The better heat dissipation of the resonator skeleton rods 12, the receptacle the spacer 12a and the enlargement of the gas reservoir continue to serve Measure, the holes 11 for these resonator skeleton rods 12 larger in diameter than the latter have.

As materials with low thermal expansion for the resonator skeleton rods 12 and the mirror holders 16 are, for example, quartz glasses such as Cerodur and metal alloys as provided by Invar.

Due to the measures described above, there is now a laser body for a waveguide laser has been created that allows mass production since up to No close-tolerance machining required for the precise capillary drilling Especially for lasers that are used only once, e.g. for missiles, projectiles etc.-the invention has a reliable, inexpensive and insensitive device created, which requires an extremely small footprint and also in weight very conveniently located.

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Claims (5)

CO waveguide laser. Claims C02 waveguide laser with high amplitude and frequency stability, its Resonator made of materials with low thermal expansion and from the laser body with higher thermal expansion is mechanically decoupled, thus g e k e n n -z e i c h n e t that the laser body (10) is a cylindrical solid body with bores (11) for the resonator skeleton rods (12) with spacers (12a), the capillary (13), the gas reserve (14) and, if necessary, for the water cooling (15) and the electrodes (X6) with the sealing plates (26au) and that as a laser body closure on both sides attachable, adjustable mirror support plates (16) are used and for decoupling of Resonator skeleton (l2,16,18) and laser body (10) the mirror support plates (16) as Bellows cover plates are formed. 2. Laser according to claim 1, characterized in that g e k e n n z e i c h -n e t that the mirror support plates (16) are connected directly to the laser body (10). 3. Laser according to claim 1, characterized in that g e k e n n z e i c h -n e t that the cylindrical Uoli body (10) is formed in one piece from ceramic. 4. Laser according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that g e k e n n -z e i c h n e t that the bores (11) have a larger diameter than the resonator skeleton rods (12) have. 5. Laser according to claims 1 to 4, characterized in that g e k e n n -z e i c h n e t that the resonator skeleton rods (12) in the bores (11) by spacers (12a) are centered.