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US 4,907,242 AGranted
Gas laser apparatus having a low pressure buffer gas
AssigneeEEV Limited
InventorsArthur Maitland, Clifford R. Weatherup
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Laser apparatus including a relatively long cylindrical cathode within a discharge tube containing a buffer gas at a low pressure of less than 1 Torr. By employing a laser constructed according to the invention, it is possible to achieve a plasma which extends along the length of the cathode, which may be up to one meter long.
Claims8
A discharge tube for a laser apparatus having a resonant cavity, said discharge tube having an optical axis and including an anode positioned within said tube along said optical axis;
- a cylindrical hollow cathode having an end adjacent said anode, an opposite end, and a wall;
- and a material contained within said tube for forming a laser amplifying medium during operation of said laser apparatus, wherein the improvement comprises a buffer gas contained within said discharge tube at a pressure of less than one Torr, a plasma being established within said cylindrical hollow cathode during operation of said laser apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.