JPH03225978A - Gas laser oscillation apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a smooth gas flow speed by a method wherein individual side faces on the side of a main discharge space part are arranged on nearly the same face and are formed on the face which regulates the flow of a gas laser medium. CONSTITUTION:Peaking capacitors (15) of a nearly rectangular parallelepiped are arranged. The peaking capacitors (15) are formed on slopes (16) in such a way that one face of a hexahedron becomes a regulating face of the flow of a gas laser medium. Since the peaking capacitors (15) come into contact with each other and the slopes (16) are arranged to be nearly the same face, the slopes act in the same manner as a wind guide (10) and regulates the flow of the gas laser medium; the medium flows into a main discharge space. Since the slope (16) of the peaking capacitor (15) on the downstream side is directed to the diverging direction, the gas laser medium which has flowed into is discharged quickly from the main discharge space (4).

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Purpose of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a gas laser oscillation device.

(Prior Art) In pulse lasers such as TEACO2 lasers and excimer lasers whose main discharge direction is orthogonal to the laser beam, high repetition rate operation is desired for their applications. A conventional laser oscillation device of this type will be explained with reference to FIG. That is, it has a laser tube (1), inside which a pair of main discharge electrodes consisting of a cathode (2) and an anode (3) are provided to form a predetermined main discharge space (4). Although not shown, a resonator mirror is arranged in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper with the main discharge space (4) in between. Further, in the vicinity of the main discharge space (4), a plurality of pairs of pin electrodes (5) for pre-ionization for stably igniting the main discharge are provided along the laser optical axis perpendicular to the plane of the paper. These pin electrodes (5) are each connected to a main power source (7) via a peaking capacitor (6) for waveform shaping. Inside the laser tube (1), in addition to the main discharge electrode, there are a heat exchanger (8) that cools and circulates the enclosed gas laser medium, and a blower (9).
) and a wind guide C10) are provided.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the gas laser oscillator having the above configuration, a large amount of electrical energy is injected into the cathode (2) and the anode (3) during main discharge, and ions and electrons generated during the discharge process are e.g. C.C.
Discharge products such as I SN IF 2 are generated.

These discharge products are quickly removed from the main discharge space by the flow of the gas laser medium. By the way, the peaking capacitor (6) is a general-purpose disk-shaped capacitor that is used in other applications than laser oscillation devices, and is shown in Figures 4 and 5.
As shown in the figure, a plurality of circular surfaces were placed in contact with both side surfaces of the cathode (2) along the optical resonance direction. For this reason, the gaps between the picking capacitors (6) and the wavy portions drawn by the circular arc portions obstruct the flow of the gas laser medium, resulting in insufficient removal of the discharge products. If the discharge products are insufficient, there is a problem in that the main discharge is hindered, making it difficult to increase the repetition rate of the laser.

An object of the present invention is to provide a gas laser oscillation device that can obtain a smooth gas flow rate without increasing the inductance of the main discharge section.

[Structure of the invention] (Means and effects for solving the problem) A laser tube enclosing a gas laser medium, a main discharge electrode provided oppositely within the laser tube, and a main discharge electrode provided near the main discharge electrode. A plurality of pin electrodes, a peaking capacitor attached to each of these pin electrodes to shape the discharge waveform, an optical resonator that resonates the laser light generated in the main discharge space, and a plurality of pin electrodes provided in the laser tube to circulate the gas laser medium. In the gas laser oscillation device, each of the peaking capacitors has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and adjacent side surfaces are arranged in close proximity or in contact with each other, and each side surface on the main discharge space side is arranged on substantially the same plane. It is formed on a regulating surface that regulates the flow of the gas laser medium, and the gas laser medium is guided by the regulating surface and flows through the main discharge space.

(Example) EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on drawings showing examples.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention, and parts common to those in FIG. 3 are given the same reference numerals. That is, the difference from the conventional example shown in FIG. 3 is that a peaking capacitor (15) shaped like a rectangular parallelepiped is arranged. Peaking capacitor (
15) has a shape in which one side of the hexahedron is formed as an inclined surface (16) that serves as a regulating surface for the flow of the gas laser medium, as shown in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. ) are arranged on substantially the same plane along the optical resonance direction and in contact with each other. In this arrangement, the inclined surface (16) is aligned in a direction that restricts and restricts the flow of the gas laser medium with respect to the main discharge space (4) on the upstream side, and in a direction that diverges the flow on the downstream side. are arranged.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained. The peaking capacitors (15) are in contact with each other and are also in contact with the inclined surface (16).
Since they are arranged substantially on the same plane, these inclined surfaces function similarly to the wind guide (10), regulating the flow of the gas laser medium and causing it to flow into the main discharge space. Furthermore, since the downstream side faces in the direction in which the slope (16) of the peaking capacitor (15) diverges, the gas laser medium that has flowed in is quickly removed from the main discharge space (4).

In the above embodiment, the regulating surface is an inclined surface (16), but it may be formed on a horizontal surface along the flow of the gas laser medium. 15) are provided on both the upstream and downstream sides of the gas laser medium, but they may be provided only on the upstream side to regulate the flow of the gas laser medium. Further, the inclined surface (16) is not limited to a flat surface, but can also be formed as a curved surface. moreover,
In the above embodiment, the peak-ink capacitor (15) is connected to the cathode (
It may also be applied to an intermediate potential method in which it is attached to the anode (3) side or both electrodes instead of the 2) side.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the past, peaking capacitors obstructed the flow of the gas laser medium, but in the present invention, the peaking capacitor smoothes the flow of the gas laser medium and significantly reduces the flow path resistance. It has become possible to increase the circulating gas flow rate by 20 to 50%. Therefore, the discharge products generated during discharge are quickly removed from the main discharge space (4), so that the interval between main discharges can be shortened and high repetition rate of the laser can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of main parts showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a peaking capacitor, FIG. 3 is a side view of main parts showing the above embodiment, and FIGS. The figures are a sectional view and a side view showing a conventional example. 2)...Cathode 3)...Anode 5)...Pin electrode 15)...Peaking capacitor 16)...Slanted surface (regulating surface)

Claims (1)

[Claims] A laser tube enclosing a gas laser medium, a main discharge electrode provided facing inside the laser tube, a plurality of pin electrodes provided in the vicinity of the main discharge electrode, and a plurality of pin electrodes each attached to each of these pin electrodes to control the discharge waveform. In a gas laser oscillation device comprising a peaking capacitor for shaping, an optical resonator for resonating laser light generated in a main discharge space, and a circulation means provided in the laser tube for circulating the gas laser medium, each of the peaking capacitors is It is characterized in that it has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and adjacent side surfaces are arranged close to each other or in contact with each other, and each side surface on the side of the main discharge space is arranged on substantially the same plane, and is formed as a regulating surface that regulates the flow of the gas laser medium. Gas laser oscillation device.