A NEW SCALABLE ANNULAR CO2-LASER WITH HIGH SPECIFIC OUTPUT POWER

A compact, annular waveguide CO2 laser is presented which uses a novel method of RF excitation to allow discharge length scaling and a non-i nterrupted optical path within the annular resonator. The laser has pr oduced an output power of 465 W at 12.9% efficiency with an annular sp acing of 1.5 mm. The electrode transmission line effects in annular la sers are analysed, and it is shown that the new excitation format prod uces a highly uniform discharge, resulting in a high specific output p ower of 16.8 kW m(-2). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.