JPH01272173A - Laser oscillating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate vibrations from the outside, marring of tubular dielectrics due to external forces, the generation of damages and the variety of discharge and to contrive the stabilization of output by a method wherein annular members consisting of elastic material are closely arranged between the tubular dielectrics and metal electrodes. CONSTITUTION:Annular members 22 and 23 all consist of an elastic material, which is superior in a high frequency resistance and a high temperature resistance and consist of fluorine or a silicone rubber or the like, for example, are formed into the configuration of an O-ring and are pressed to the outer faces of tubular dielectrics 21 by metal electrodes 24 and 25 making a pair in combination with the upper and lower ones. Laser gas is circulated in the inner sides of the dielectrics 21 and silent discharge 34 is performed through the dielectrics 21 between the electrodes 24 and 25 to induce the laser gas. The members 22 and 23 are put in a high-frequency electric field and keep coming into contact to the high-temperature dielectrics 21, but as the members 22 and 23 consist of the high frequency-resistant and high temperature-resistant material, vibrations from the outside and external forces are also absorbed by the elasticity of the members 22 and 23, marring due to the dielectrics and the generation of cracks and failures are prevented and each spaces between the dielectrics 21 and the electrodes 24 and 25 is filled with the members 22 and 23. Thereby, as the generation of spaces is avoided, the variation of the silent discharge 34 is eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a laser oscillation device that excites laser gas by silent discharge.

(Prior Art) Generally, gas laser oscillation devices such as a C02 laser oscillation device are mainstream as laser beam oscillation devices used for laser processing, and the excitation of the laser gas is performed by direct current discharge. However, in direct current discharge, the metal electrode is exposed in the laser gas, so the discharge easily turns into an arc discharge (the discharge may lack stability, or the metal may react with the laser gas due to the discharge and contaminate the gas). It had some drawbacks.

Therefore, in recent years, as a discharge method that can eliminate the above-mentioned drawbacks of DC discharge and dramatically increase the discharge input per unit electrode length, AC discharge, that is, silent discharge, which is performed by interposing a dielectric between metal electrodes, has been developed using laser gas. Application to excitation is being considered.

However, as this type of device, for example, JP-A-61-2
A device disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 83184 is known, and is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

That is, in this device, a discharge electrode tube 4 is constructed by disposing a pair of metal electrodes 2 and 3 in close contact with each other on the outside of a tubular dielectric body 1 made of quartz glass or the like and having a circular cross section. A total reflection mirror 5 and a reflection mirror 6 from which the laser can be taken out are arranged on both sides of the discharge electrode tube 4 so that the axis of the discharge electrode tube 4 coincides with the laser optical axis. Furthermore, a gas circulation body 7 is connected to the discharge electrode tube 4 on both sides, and a blower 8 is provided in the center of the gas circulation body 7 together with a cooler 9.10. A high-voltage, high-frequency power source 11 is connected to the metal electrode 2.3.

With such a configuration, the gas as a laser medium supplied into the gas circulation body 7, that is, the laser gas, is passed from the gas circulation body 7 to the tubular dielectric body 1 by the blower 8 to the coolers 9, 10.
and is circulated through the tubular dielectric 1. In such a situation, a high frequency high voltage is applied from the power source 11 to the metal electrodes 2 and 3, and as a result, a silent discharge 12 is generated between the metal electrodes 2 and 3 through the tubular dielectric 1, and the laser gas is excited. do. Accordingly, laser oscillation occurs between mirrors 5 and 6, and laser light 13 is extracted from mirror 6.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In the laser oscillation device described above, since the metal electrodes 2 and 3 are arranged in close contact with each other on the outside of the tubular dielectric 1, for example, during operation of the blower 8 or during transportation, vibration from the outside,
When there is an external force, it causes the above-mentioned tubular dielectric body 1 and metal electrode 2.
3, causing scratches, cracks, and even damage to the tubular dielectric body 1 made of quartz glass or the like due to the metal electrodes 2 and 3. Further, the tubular dielectric body 1 made of quartz glass or the like is usually manufactured by a drawing method, and has a larger variation in external shape than the metal electrodes 2.3 manufactured by machining. It is difficult to do so, and since a certain space is created, the silent discharge 12 also varies due to the space, which poses a problem in that the laser output is unstable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and therefore, its purpose is to eliminate scratches, cracks, and damage to the tubular dielectric material caused by external vibrations and external forces, and also to reduce variations in silent discharge. It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent laser oscillation device that can stabilize the laser output without any problems.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The laser oscillation device of the present invention has a tubular dielectric body, in which a pair of metal electrodes is arranged on the outside, and a laser gas is caused to flow inside.
The excitation is performed by silent discharge between metal electrodes via the tubular dielectric, and the feature is that an annular body made of an elastic material is closely disposed between the tubular dielectric and the metal electrode. It has the following.

(Function) According to the above means, contact of the metal electrode with the tubular dielectric body is avoided by the annular body, and external vibrations and external forces are also absorbed by the annular body.

Furthermore, the space between the tubular dielectric and the metal electrode is filled with the annular body, thereby avoiding the creation of a space.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

First, in FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 21 is a tubular dielectric body made of quartz glass or the like with a circular cross section, and annular bodies 22 and 23 are attached to both outer ends of the dielectric body, respectively. The annular bodies 22 and 23 are both made of an elastic material such as fluorine or silicone rubber that has excellent high frequency resistance and high temperature resistance, and are manufactured in the shape of an O-ring with a circular cross section as shown in FIG. There is. On the other hand, 24 and 25 are metal electrodes that form a pair at the top and bottom in the figure, and each inner surface forms an arc shape with a larger curvature than the outer surface of the tubular dielectric body 21. .23 are placed on the outside of these annular bodies 22, 23, and thus also on the outside of the tubular dielectric 21, so as to press against the outer surface of the tubular dielectric 1. As a result, the annular bodies 22 and 23 are arranged in close contact between the tubular dielectric body 21 and the metal electrodes 24 and 25 disposed on the outside thereof.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a discharge electrode tube constituted by the above-mentioned tubular dielectric body 21, tubular bodies 22, 23, and metal electrodes 24, 25, and on both sides of the discharge electrode tube 26 are provided such that the axis of the discharge electrode tube 26 coincides with the laser optical axis. A total reflection mirror 27 and a reflection mirror 28 from which a laser can be taken out are arranged. Furthermore, the discharge electrode tube 26
A gas circulation body 29 is connected on both sides of the gas circulation body 29, and a blower 30 is provided in the center of the gas circulation body 29 together with coolers 31, 32. A high-voltage, high-frequency power source 33 is connected to the metal electrodes 24 and 25.

With the above configuration, the gas as a laser medium supplied into the gas circulation body 29, that is, the laser gas, is supplied to the blower 3.
0 is circulated from the gas circulation body 29 to the tubular dielectric body 21 through the coolers 31 and 32, and is circulated inside the tubular dielectric body 21.

In such a situation, a high frequency high voltage is applied from the power source 33 to the metal electrodes 24, 25, and a silent discharge 34 occurs between the metal electrodes 24, 25 through the tubular dielectric 21, and the laser gas is Excite. Accordingly, laser oscillation occurs between mirrors 27 and 28, and laser light 35 is extracted from mirror 28.

During this folding, the annular bodies 22 and 23 are placed in a high-frequency electric field, and the tubular dielectric body 21 is heated to a high temperature (approximately 20 CM"C).
However, as mentioned above, it is made of a material with excellent high frequency resistance and high temperature resistance, so it can be used without any problems.

The contact of the metal electrodes 24 and 25 with the tubular dielectric body 21 is continued to be avoided by the annular body 22.23, and vibrations and external forces from the outside are also avoided by the annular body 22.2.
It continues to be absorbed by the elasticity of 3. Therefore, the tubular dielectric body 21 made of quartz glass or the like is prevented from being scratched, cracked, or even damaged by the metal electrodes 24,25.

Moreover, between the tubular dielectric 21 and the metal electrodes 24 and 25,
These are also respectively filled by the annular bodies 22 and 23, thereby avoiding the generation of spaces therein, thereby eliminating variations in the silent discharge 34 and achieving stabilization of the laser output.

FIG. 4 shows a different embodiment of the present invention, in which grooves 38 and 39 are formed in metal electrodes 36 and 37, which are thicker than the metal electrodes 24 and 25 described above, respectively. , and the annular bodies 22 and 23 are respectively fitted therein. By doing so, the annular bodies 22 and 23 and the metal electrodes 36 and 37 can be fixed more reliably.

Further, FIGS. 5 to 7 show still another embodiment of the present invention, in which instead of the annular body 22, 23 described above, a ring body 22, 23 is disposed in close contact between the tubular dielectric body 21 and the metal electrode 24, 25. The groove 4 not only covers both ends of the metal electrodes 24 and 25, but also covers both ends of the metal electrodes 24 and 25.
0.41, and by doing so, it is possible to reduce the electric field concentration at both ends of the metal electrodes 24, 25, and to reduce the concentration of the electric field at both ends of the metal electrodes 24, 25, and to reduce the concentration of the electric field at both ends of the metal electrodes 24, 25. Since the distance between the two can be reduced, the entire device can be made smaller. In this case, when increasing the output of the device, a plurality of discharge electrode tubes 26 are provided as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 61-283184, but in this case, for the same reason as above, each discharge electrode tube 2
The mutual spacing between the metal electrodes 24 and 25 of No. 6 can be reduced, so that the overall size can be reduced.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, but can be implemented with appropriate changes within the scope of the gist.

[Effects of the Invention] As is clear from the above description, the laser oscillation device of the present invention is characterized in that annular bodies made of an elastic material are closely arranged between the tubular dielectric body and the metal electrode. And as a result, vibrations from the outside.

This has the excellent effect of eliminating scratches, cracks, and breakage of the tubular dielectric due to external forces, as well as eliminating variations in silent discharge and stabilizing the laser output.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the whole, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view taken along line 1--2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the annular body alone. FIG. 4 is a partial view corresponding to FIG. 1 showing a different embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5 to 7 are views showing further different embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. , FIG. 6 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 2, and FIG. 7 is a diagram equivalent to FIG. 3. FIGS. 8 and 9 show conventional devices, with FIG. 8 being a diagram corresponding to FIG. 1, and FIG. 9 being a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2. In the drawing, 21 is a tubular dielectric body, 22.23 is an annular body, and 24
．． 25 is a metal electrode, 36.37 is a metal electrode, 42.43
indicates a toroidal body.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A laser oscillation device in which a pair of metal electrodes is arranged outside a tubular dielectric, a laser gas is caused to flow inside the tubular dielectric, and the excitation is performed by silent discharge between the metal electrodes via the tubular dielectric, A laser oscillation device characterized in that an annular body made of an elastic material is closely disposed between the tubular dielectric body and the metal electrode.