JPS6052070A - Coaxial type laser oscillator - Google Patents

Coaxial type laser oscillator

Info

Publication number
JPS6052070A
JPS6052070A JP16065583A JP16065583A JPS6052070A JP S6052070 A JPS6052070 A JP S6052070A JP 16065583 A JP16065583 A JP 16065583A JP 16065583 A JP16065583 A JP 16065583A JP S6052070 A JPS6052070 A JP S6052070A
Authority
JP
Japan
Prior art keywords
discharge
electrode
auxiliary electrode
medium gas
discharge tube
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
JP16065583A
Other languages
Japanese (ja)
Inventor
Yoshihide Kanehara
好秀 金原
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Original Assignee
Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Mitsubishi Electric Corp filed Critical Mitsubishi Electric Corp
Priority to JP16065583A priority Critical patent/JPS6052070A/en
Publication of JPS6052070A publication Critical patent/JPS6052070A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01S—DEVICES USING THE PROCESS OF LIGHT AMPLIFICATION BY STIMULATED EMISSION OF RADIATION [LASER] TO AMPLIFY OR GENERATE LIGHT; DEVICES USING STIMULATED EMISSION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION IN WAVE RANGES OTHER THAN OPTICAL
    • H01S3/00—Lasers, i.e. devices using stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in the infrared, visible or ultraviolet wave range
    • H01S3/09—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping
    • H01S3/097—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping by gas discharge of a gas laser
    • H01S3/0975—Processes or apparatus for excitation, e.g. pumping by gas discharge of a gas laser using inductive or capacitive excitation

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Electromagnetism (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Plasma & Fusion (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Lasers (AREA)

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the discharge current of the glow discharge vary stably by a method wherein an auxiliary electrode is provided on the outside of the discharge tube and laser medium gas is preexcited by silent discharge, which is produced between the auxiliary electrode and at least one side of a pair of electrodes. CONSTITUTION:The auxiliary electrode 9 of a discharge tube 1 is provided with close contact on the outside of the discharge tube 1 in the vicinity of at least one side of a pair of electrodes 3A and 3B, for example, the electrode 3A on the cathode side located on the side of the upper stream of the flow of laser medium gas 2, which flows through the interior of the discharge tube 1. Silent discharge 11 is generated by impressing high AC voltage between the electrode 3A on the cathode side and the auxiliary electrode 9 from an AC power source 10. The laser medium gas 2 preexcited by the silent discharge 11 on the side of the upper stream of the discharge tube 1 flows through the interior of the discharge tube 1 and reaches the electrode 3B on the anode side. Glow discharge 5 is dropped its discharge current in the laser medium gas 2 preexcited, thereby enabling to obtain the stabilized glow discharge.

Description

【発明の詳細な説明】 〔発明の技術分野〕 この発明は、同軸型レーザ発振器の放電管内における放
電特性の改良に関するものである。DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to improvement of discharge characteristics within a discharge tube of a coaxial laser oscillator.

〔従来技術〕[Prior art]

従来この種の同軸型レーザ発振器としては、第１図に示
すものがあった。第１図は従来の同軸型レーザ発振器の
構成を示す断面図である。図に示す様に、ガラス管等の
誘電体で構成される放電管１内にレーザ媒質ガス２を流
し、放電管１内に設けた１対の電極３Ａ、３Ｂ間には直
流高電圧電源４を接続してグロー放電５を生成し、この
グロー放電５によりレーザ媒質ガス２を励起する。また
、グロー放電５の中心軸上に全反射鏡６と部分透過鏡７
を対向して配設することによりレーザ発振を発生し、と
のレーザ発振を部分透過鏡７側よりレーザ光８として外
部に出力する。A conventional coaxial laser oscillator of this type is shown in FIG. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional coaxial laser oscillator. As shown in the figure, a laser medium gas 2 is passed through a discharge tube 1 made of a dielectric material such as a glass tube, and a DC high voltage power source 4 is connected between a pair of electrodes 3A and 3B provided inside the discharge tube 1. is connected to generate a glow discharge 5, and this glow discharge 5 excites the laser medium gas 2. Also, a total reflection mirror 6 and a partial transmission mirror 7 are placed on the central axis of the glow discharge 5.
Laser oscillation is generated by arranging the and the like facing each other, and the laser oscillation is outputted from the partially transmitting mirror 7 side as laser light 8 to the outside.

従来の同軸型レーザ発振器は以上の様に構成されており
、１対の電極３Ａ　、３Ｂ間の間隔が比較的に離れてい
るため、上記したグロー放電５を初期に発生することは
非常に回船である。そして、グロー放電５による放電電
流が少ない時にはグロー放電５が不安定となり、時には
消失してしまうことがあり、このため、放電電流の可変
範囲が狭い等の欠点があった。また、直流高電圧電源４
は約２０〜３５ＫＶという非常に高い電圧であるため、
グロー放電５の放電電流を高速度で制御することは極め
て困難であるなどの欠点があった。The conventional coaxial laser oscillator is constructed as described above, and since the distance between the pair of electrodes 3A and 3B is relatively large, it is extremely difficult to generate the glow discharge 5 described above at the initial stage. It's a ship. Furthermore, when the discharge current due to the glow discharge 5 is small, the glow discharge 5 becomes unstable and sometimes disappears, resulting in drawbacks such as a narrow variable range of the discharge current. In addition, the DC high voltage power supply 4
is a very high voltage of approximately 20-35KV,
There were drawbacks such as that it was extremely difficult to control the discharge current of the glow discharge 5 at high speed.

〔発明の概要〕[Summary of the invention]

この発明け、上記の様な従来のものの欠点を改善する目
的でなされたもので、ガラス管等の誘電体で構成される
放電管内に、レーザ媒質ガスを流し、前記放電管内に設
けた１対の電極間に直流高電圧を印加し、グロー放電を
生成することにより前記レーザ媒質ガスを励起し、レー
ザ発振を行う同軸型レーザ発振器において、前記１対の
電極の少なくとも１つの電極の近傍で、かつ前記放電管
の外側に補助電極を設け、この補助電極と前記電極との
間に交流電圧を印加し、無声放電を生成する様にして成
る構成を有し、グロー放電の初期の発生を容易となし、
安定的に放電電流の可変範囲が広いグロー放電を生成す
ることができる同軸型レーザ発振器を提供するものであ
る。This invention was made for the purpose of improving the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional ones.In this invention, a laser medium gas is caused to flow in a discharge tube made of a dielectric material such as a glass tube, and a pair of In a coaxial laser oscillator that excites the laser medium gas and oscillates the laser medium by applying a DC high voltage between the electrodes to generate a glow discharge, in the vicinity of at least one of the pair of electrodes, and has a configuration in which an auxiliary electrode is provided outside the discharge tube, and an alternating current voltage is applied between the auxiliary electrode and the electrode to generate a silent discharge, facilitating the initial generation of glow discharge. Tonashi,
The present invention provides a coaxial laser oscillator that can stably generate glow discharge with a wide variable range of discharge current.

〔発明の実施例〕[Embodiments of the invention]

以下、この発明の実施例を図について説明する。 Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

第２図はこの発明の一実施例である同軸型レーザ発振器
の構成を示す断面図で、第１図と同一部分は同一符号を
用いて表示してあり、その詳細な説明は省略する。図に
示す様に、９は補助電極であり、この補助電極９は、１
対の電極３Ａ、３Ｂの少なくとも１つの電極、例えば放
電管１内を流れるレーザ媒質ガス２の流れの上流側にあ
る陰極側の電極３Ａの近傍で、放電管１の外側に密着し
て設けられる。陰極側の電極３Ａと補助電極９との間に
、交流電源１０より交流高電圧を印加することにより無
声放電１１を生成する。この無声放電１１は、レーザ媒
質ガス２を予備励起する作用がある。放電管１の−１：
流側において、無声放電１１により予備励起されたレー
ザ媒質ガス２は放電管１内を流れて陽極側の電極３Ｂに
到達する。グロー放電５け、予備励起されたレーザ媒質
ガス２内では放電電流が下り、グロー放電５の初期の発
生も容易であり、これにより、安定したグロー放電５が
得られる。また、グロー放電５の放電電流を少なくして
も、不安定になる電流はこの種の従来例のものに比べる
と約１７２〜１／３以下であり、広範囲にわたりグロー
放電５の放電電流を変化させることができる。補助電極
９を直流高電圧電源４の負極側、す々わち陰極側の電極
３Ａの近傍に設けることにより、無声放電１１によって
引き出された電子は、陽極側の電極３Ｂに容易に流れる
ことができ、そして、レーザ媒質ガス２の流れ方向が電
子の流れ方向と同一であれば、さらに容易に陽極側の電
極３Ｂに到達することができて、グロー放電５の放電を
安定化させ得る。FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a coaxial laser oscillator according to an embodiment of the present invention. The same parts as in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted. As shown in the figure, 9 is an auxiliary electrode, and this auxiliary electrode 9 is 1
At least one electrode of the pair of electrodes 3A and 3B, for example, is provided in close contact with the outside of the discharge tube 1 in the vicinity of the cathode-side electrode 3A on the upstream side of the flow of the laser medium gas 2 flowing inside the discharge tube 1. . A silent discharge 11 is generated by applying an AC high voltage from an AC power source 10 between the cathode side electrode 3A and the auxiliary electrode 9. This silent discharge 11 has the effect of pre-exciting the laser medium gas 2. Discharge tube 1-1:
On the flow side, the laser medium gas 2 pre-excited by the silent discharge 11 flows through the discharge tube 1 and reaches the anode side electrode 3B. During the glow discharge 5, the discharge current decreases in the pre-excited laser medium gas 2, and the initial generation of the glow discharge 5 is easy, thereby providing a stable glow discharge 5. Furthermore, even if the discharge current of the glow discharge 5 is reduced, the current that becomes unstable is about 172 to 1/3 or less compared to conventional examples of this type, and the discharge current of the glow discharge 5 can be varied over a wide range. can be done. By providing the auxiliary electrode 9 on the negative electrode side of the DC high voltage power supply 4, that is, near the cathode side electrode 3A, the electrons extracted by the silent discharge 11 can easily flow to the anode side electrode 3B. If the flow direction of the laser medium gas 2 is the same as the flow direction of electrons, the electrons can more easily reach the anode side electrode 3B, and the discharge of the glow discharge 5 can be stabilized.

一方、交流電源１０が出力する無声放電１１の電流を、
第３図（ａ）に示す様に変調することにより、第３図の
）に示す様に、グロー放電５の放電電流を高速度で制御
することができ、また、第３図（Ｃ）に示す様に、レー
ザ光８の出力は、グロー放電５の強度に応じたパルスレ
ーザ出力とすることができる。On the other hand, the current of silent discharge 11 outputted by AC power supply 10 is
By modulating as shown in Figure 3(a), the discharge current of the glow discharge 5 can be controlled at high speed as shown in Figure 3(C). As shown, the output of the laser beam 8 can be a pulsed laser output depending on the intensity of the glow discharge 5.

また、上記実施例において、補助電極９を陰極側の電極
３Ａの近傍に設け、この電極３Ａと補助電極９との間に
交流電源１０により交流高電圧を印加し、無声放電１１
によって予備励起することにより、レーザ媒質ガス２の
圧力を高めることによっても安定なグロー放電５を維持
することができる。このため、同一の管長を有する放電
管１において、この発明の上記実施例によれば、大きな
放電電力を投入することができ、小型で大出力の同軸型
レーザ発振器を構成することが可能となる。Further, in the above embodiment, the auxiliary electrode 9 is provided near the electrode 3A on the cathode side, and an AC high voltage is applied between the electrode 3A and the auxiliary electrode 9 by the AC power supply 10, and the silent discharge 11
By preliminary excitation by , stable glow discharge 5 can be maintained even by increasing the pressure of laser medium gas 2 . Therefore, in the discharge tubes 1 having the same tube length, according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, a large discharge power can be input, and it is possible to construct a compact and high-output coaxial laser oscillator. .

〔発明の効果〕〔Effect of the invention〕

この発明は以上説明した様に、同軸型レーザ発振器にお
いて、放電管の外側に補助電極を設け、この補助電極と
１対の電極の少なくとも１つの電極との間に生成する無
声放電により、レーザ媒質ガスを予備励起する様に構成
したので、グロー放電の初期の発生を容易となし、安定
性をもって広範囲にグロー放電の放電電流を変化すると
とができ、また、無声放電の強度を変調することにより
、レーザ光出力の高速度の応答ができる様にした同軸型
レーザ発振器が得られるという優れた効果を奏するもの
である。As explained above, the present invention provides a coaxial laser oscillator with an auxiliary electrode on the outside of the discharge tube, and generates a silent discharge between the auxiliary electrode and at least one of a pair of electrodes to stimulate the laser medium. Since the structure is configured to pre-excite the gas, the initial generation of glow discharge is facilitated, the discharge current of glow discharge can be varied over a wide range with stability, and the intensity of silent discharge can be modulated. This provides an excellent effect in that a coaxial laser oscillator capable of high-speed response of laser light output can be obtained.

【図面の簡単な説明】[Brief explanation of the drawing]

第１図は従来の同軸型レーザ発振器の構成を示す断面図
、第２図はこの発明の一実施例である同軸型レーザ発振
器の構成を示す断面図、第３図（ａ）ないしくｃ）は、
この発明の他の実施例である同軸型レーザ発振器の動作
態様を説明するための各部の波形を示すタイムチート図
である。 図において、１・・・放電管、２・・・レーザ媒質ガス
、３Ａ、３１１−・・・１対の電極、４・・・直流高電
圧電源、ｌ、β＼ ５・・・グロー放電、６・・・全反射鏡、７・・・部分
透過鏡、８・・・レーザ光、９・・・補助電極、１０・
・・交流電源、１１・・・無声放電である。 なｐ１各図中、同一符号は同一、又は相当部分を示す。 代理人　大岩増雄FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a conventional coaxial laser oscillator, FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the configuration of a coaxial laser oscillator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3(a) to c) teeth,
FIG. 7 is a time cheat diagram showing waveforms of various parts for explaining the operation mode of a coaxial laser oscillator which is another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1...Discharge tube, 2...Laser medium gas, 3A, 311-...1 pair of electrodes, 4...DC high voltage power supply, l, β\5... Glow discharge, 6... Totally reflecting mirror, 7... Partially transmitting mirror, 8... Laser light, 9... Auxiliary electrode, 10...
...AC power supply, 11...Silent discharge. p1 In each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts. Agent Masuo Oiwa

Claims (4)

【特許請求の範囲】[Claims] （１）　ガラス管等の誘電体で構成される放電管内に、
レーザ媒質ガスを流し、前記放電管内に設けた１対の電
極間に直流高電圧を印加し、グロー放電を生成すること
により前記レーザ媒質ガスを励起し、レーザ発振を行う
同軸型レーザ発振器において、前記１対の電極の少なく
とも１つの電極の近傍で、かつ前記放電管の外側に補助
電極を設け、との補助電極と前記電極との間に交流電圧
を印加し、無声放電を生成する様にして成ることを特徴
とする同軸型レーザ発振器。(1) Inside the discharge tube made of dielectric material such as glass tube,
In a coaxial laser oscillator that flows a laser medium gas, applies a high DC voltage between a pair of electrodes provided in the discharge tube, and generates a glow discharge to excite the laser medium gas and perform laser oscillation, An auxiliary electrode is provided near at least one electrode of the pair of electrodes and outside the discharge tube, and an alternating current voltage is applied between the auxiliary electrode and the electrode to generate a silent discharge. A coaxial laser oscillator characterized by comprising: （２）前記補助電極は、前記放電管内を流れるレーザ媒
質ガス流の上流側に設けることを特徴とする特許請求の
範囲第１項記載の同軸型レーザ発振器。(2) The coaxial laser oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary electrode is provided on the upstream side of the laser medium gas flow flowing within the discharge tube. （３）　前記補助電極は、前記１対の電極の内、陰極側
の電極の近傍に設けることを特徴とする特許請求の範囲
第１項記載の同軸型レーザ発振器。(3) The coaxial laser oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary electrode is provided near the cathode side of the pair of electrodes. （４）前記無声放電は、その強度を変調することにより
、前記グロー放電の強度を制御することを特徴とする特
許請求の範囲第１項記載の同軸型レーザ発振器。(4) The coaxial laser oscillator according to claim 1, wherein the intensity of the glow discharge is controlled by modulating the intensity of the silent discharge.
JP16065583A 1983-09-01 1983-09-01 Coaxial type laser oscillator Pending JPS6052070A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP16065583A JPS6052070A (en) 1983-09-01 1983-09-01 Coaxial type laser oscillator

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP16065583A JPS6052070A (en) 1983-09-01 1983-09-01 Coaxial type laser oscillator

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
JPS6052070A true JPS6052070A (en) 1985-03-23

Family

ID=15719626

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
JP16065583A Pending JPS6052070A (en) 1983-09-01 1983-09-01 Coaxial type laser oscillator

Country Status (1)

Country Link
JP (1) JPS6052070A (en)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS62183581A (en) * 1986-02-07 1987-08-11 Shimada Phys & Chem Ind Co Ltd High-speed axial-flow gas laser oscillator
US4754849A (en) * 1986-09-29 1988-07-05 Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Control system for elevator cage guide magnets
EP0294492A1 (en) * 1986-12-23 1988-12-14 Fanuc Ltd. High-frequency discharge-excited laser unit

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS62183581A (en) * 1986-02-07 1987-08-11 Shimada Phys & Chem Ind Co Ltd High-speed axial-flow gas laser oscillator
JPH0347753B2 (en) * 1986-02-07 1991-07-22 Shimada Rika Kogyo Kk
US4754849A (en) * 1986-09-29 1988-07-05 Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Control system for elevator cage guide magnets
EP0294492A1 (en) * 1986-12-23 1988-12-14 Fanuc Ltd. High-frequency discharge-excited laser unit

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