JPS63228770A - Gas laser device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stabilize an output by rapidly annihilating shock waves along the direction of separation of a main electrode by a shock absorber. CONSTITUTION:When a high voltage power 8 is operated, discharge is generated among upper/lower pin electrodes 5, 6, space between a cathode 3 and an anode 4 is pre-ionized by ultraviolet rays by the discharge, and main discharge is generated. Shock waves in the direction of the arrow (a) with the main discharge are annihilated in a short time, but shock waves in the direction (b) collide with the mutually opposed surfaces of the cathode 3 and the anode 4. Shocks are absorbed by the elastic deformation of a shock absorber 14 in shock waves colliding with a discharge member for the anode 4 in the shock waves. Accordingly, shock waves are quenched in a short time, thus preventing an unstable state from main discharge.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Structure of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The gas laser device uses TEACO2 of high-pressure horizontal discharge excitation type.
It is well known that there are lasers, excimer lasers, etc.

Such a gas laser device has GO2 and N in the laser tube.
2. A laser nozzle or excimer laser gas mixed with He etc. is housed in the laser tube and circulated,
A pair of main electrodes are arranged to face each other and to be separated from each other in a direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the laser gas. By applying a high voltage between the pair of main electrodes to generate a discharge, the laser gas is excited and laser light is oscillated.

By the way, when a discharge is generated between a pair of main electrodes to excite a laser gas, it is inevitable that a shock wave is generated between the pair of main electrodes due to the discharge. This lli shock wave can be roughly divided into a first shock wave along the flow direction of the laser gas and a second shock wave along the direction in which the pair of main NFis are separated orthogonal to the first shock wave. Since there are no particular obstacles in that direction, the first shock wave easily flows out from between the pair of main electrodes and disappears. However, the second shock wave is reflected by the pair of main electrodes and trapped between them, and therefore disappears. Then, this second shock wave made the flow and density of the laser gas between the pair of main molds unstable, so there was a problem that it was not possible to repeatedly oscillate a laser beam with a stable output at high pulses. .

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) This invention was made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to prevent shock waves generated between a pair of main electrodes from stagnating between these main electrodes. It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas laser device that quickly eliminates shock waves along the direction in which the main electrodes are separated, and can obtain a laser beam with a stable output.

[Structure of the Invention (Means and Effects for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a laser tube containing a laser gas, and a laser tube that is disposed facing each other for a distance of m in the laser tube. A pair of lords! ffl, and a power source unit that generates a discharge for exciting the laser gas between the pair of main electrodes, and at least one of the pair of main electrodes is connected to a base body and connected to the base body via a shock absorber. and a discharge member facing the other main electrode. The shock absorber absorbs shock waves along the direction in which the pair of main electrodes are separated.

(Example) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The gas laser device shown in FIG. 2 has a laser tube 1 having a circular cross section. Inside the laser tube 1, a cathode 3 and an anode 4, which serve as a pair of main electrodes and which are each attached to a holding plate 2 made of a conductive material, are arranged facing each other and separated from each other.

Note that the holding plate 2 is attached and fixed to the laser tube 1 at both ends in the longitudinal direction, although details are not shown.

On both sides in the width direction of the pair of electrodes 3.4, an upper bin electrode 5 and a lower bin electrode 6, each serving as a preliminary ionization electrode, are arranged, with one end attached to the holding plate 2 and the other end spaced apart and facing each other. ing. A peaking capacitor 7 is connected to the upper bin electrode 5, and a pair of upper and lower holding plates 2 are connected to a high voltage power source 8 as a power source section.

The laser tube 1 contains a laser gas containing a mixture of CO2, N2, He, etc. or an excimer laser gas. The laser gas is circulated in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 by a feeder 1119 disposed within the laser tube 1. Further, a heat exchanger 11 is provided in the laser tube 1 for cooling the laser gas whose temperature has increased after passing between the cathode 3 and the vA electrode.

On the other hand, the anode 4 is constructed as shown in FIG. That is, a strip-shaped base 12 is mounted on the holding plate 2 in an electrically conductive state. A recess 13 is formed on the upper surface of the base 12 over almost the entire length in the longitudinal direction. A shock absorber 14 made of a material that easily absorbs vibrations, such as an elastic material such as fluororubber, is attached to the recess 13 over almost the entire surface thereof. A strip-shaped discharge member 15 made of metal such as nickel or nickel alloy is adhesively fixed to the upper surface of this shock absorber 14. - A plurality of through holes 16 are bored in the absorbent body 14 in its thickness direction. A conductive member 17 in the form of a coiled spring is provided within these through holes 16 to electrically connect the base body 12 and the discharge member 15 .

In a gas laser device having such a structure, when the high-voltage power supply 8 is activated, a distance of 111 m is first generated between the upper bin electric bridge 5 and the lower bin electrode 6, and the ultraviolet rays generated by this discharge damage the cathode 3 and anode 4. The space between the two is pre-ionized.

When the space is pre-ionized, a main discharge is generated between the cathode 3 and the cathode 4, the laser gas is excited by this main discharge, and laser light is output from the output mirror of the resonator (not shown).

In this way, when a discharge occurs between the cathode 3 and the anode 4,
As a result, a shock wave is generated. Roughly speaking, this shock wave is generated in a first direction indicated by an arrow a in FIG. 1 and a second direction similarly indicated by an arrow b.

The shock wave in the first direction indicated by a flows in the width direction of the cathode 3 and the anode 4 and disappears in a short time. Moreover, the balanced wave in the second direction shown by b collides with the surfaces of the cathode 3 and the anode 4 that face each other. A discharge member 1 in which a shock wave forms a discharge surface of an anode 4
5, the impact absorber 14 elastically deforms and absorbs the impact.

Furthermore, since the shock wave that collides with the discharge surface of the cathode 3 is reflected here and collides with the discharge member 15 of the anode 4, it is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the shock absorber 14, similar to the shock wave that collides directly with the discharge member 15. That will happen. Therefore, b
Since the shock wave in the second direction shown by will also disappear in a short time, it is possible to prevent the next main discharge from becoming unstable due to the influence of the shock wave.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and the cathode 4 may also have a structure in which the discharge member 15 is superposed on the base 12 via the shock absorber 14, similar to the anode 3.

Furthermore, if the shock absorber 14 is made of a conductive material, it is not necessary to connect the base 12 and the discharge member 15 with the conductive member 17 as in the above embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention has a structure in which at least one of a pair of main electrodes disposed facing each other is provided with a discharge member on the base via a shock absorber. Therefore, among the shock waves generated by the discharge between the pair of main electrodes,
Since the shock wave along the arrangement direction of the pair of main electrodes, which is difficult to eliminate from between these main electrodes, can be extinguished in a short time by the above-mentioned shock absorber, a stable output laser beam can be repeatedly oscillated at a high speed. Can be done.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being an enlarged sectional view of an anode, and FIG. 2 being a schematic diagram of the entire gas laser device. 1... Laser tube, 3... Cathode (main electrode), 4...
Anode (main electrode), 8... High voltage power supply (power supply section), 12.
... base body, 14 ... shock absorber, 15 ... discharge member.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The laser tube includes a laser tube containing a laser gas, a pair of main electrodes disposed in the laser tube to be spaced apart from each other, and a power supply unit that generates a discharge between the pair of main electrodes to excite the laser gas. The gas laser device is characterized in that at least one of the pair of main electrodes is composed of a base body and a discharge member provided on the base body via a shock absorber and facing the other main electrode.