High power and high focusing CWCO2 laser using anunstable resonator with a phase-unifying output coupler |
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| Authors: | Takenaka Y Kuzumoto M Yasui K Yagi S Tagashira M |
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| Affiliation: | Mitsuibishi Electr. Corp., Hyogo; |
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| Abstract: | A high-power and high-focusing continuous-wave (CW) CO2 laser with a novel unstable resonator was developed. This resonator contains a step-wise variable reflecting output coupler named the phase-unifying output coupler and a total reflector. The laser was excited by a capacitive-barriered AC discharge called a silent discharge. A linearly polarized laser beam with a diffraction-limited divergence angle of 0.55 mrad was obtained. Very stable CW laser operation at an output power of 5 kW was achieved with a threshold discharge power of 10 kW and a slope efficiency of 18% |
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