Gas laser oscillating apparatus for discharging laser beam by exciting gas with microwave

Abstract

Carbon dioxide gas is fed in a metallic laser tube extending along an optical axis through a plurality of gas feeding tubes placed outside the optical axis and is taken out from the metallic laser tube by a blower to circulate the carbon dioxide gas, and the carbon dioxide gas held in the metallic laser tube is cooled by a gas cooling element. A pair of microwaves in which electric fields oscillated in different directions are induced are injected from a pair of gas injecting points of the gas feeding tubes close to the ends of the metallic laser tube and are combined in the metallic laser tube. Therefore, the carbon dioxide gas held in the metallic laser tube is uniformly excited by receiving the energy of the combined microwave, light is emitted from the excited carbon dioxide gas, the emitted light is repeatedly reflected along the optical axis by a total reflecting mirror and a partial reflecting mirror placed on both end sides of the metallic laser tube, and the emitted light passes through the partial reflecting mirror. Because the microwaves are injected from the gas injecting points placed outside the optical axis, the emitted light is stable resonated, a velocity of the carbon dioxide gas can be lowered, and a length of the metallic laser tube can be shortened.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.