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US 6,756,104 B2Granted
Surface finishes on laser rods and slabs for laser peening systems
AssigneeLSP Technologies, Inc.
InventorsDavid Sokol, Jeff Dulaney, Steven M. Toller
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A laser gain medium and a method of manufacturing a laser medium, such as a laser rod, or slab for use in high-powered laser peening systems. A laser medium and method reduces stress risers along the surface of the amplifier medium by grit blasting, polishing, etching, annealing, and by eliminating platinum inclusions within the laser glass.
Claims19
A laser peening system comprising:
- a phosphate glass laser amplifier rod having an outer rod surface and a corresponding outer rod surface finish, said outer rod surface finish permitting surface defects only no larger than about 50 μm to remain, said outer rod surface finish thereby allowing the laser peening system to operate at a rate of at least one peening operation per second, said outer rod surface finish being achieved upon only at least one of annealing and etching outer said rod surface after mechanical treatment thereof, thereby resulting in a finsihed, operable said phosphate glass amplifier rod.
A laser peening system comprising:
- a phosphate glass laser amplifier slab having an outer slab surface and a corresponding outer slab surface finish, said outer slab surface finish permitting surface defects only no larger than about 50 μm to remain, said outer slab surface finish thereby allowing the laser peening system to operate at a rate of at least two peening operations per second, said outer slab surface finish being achieved upon only at least one of annealing and etching said outer slab surface after mechanical treatment thereof, thereby resulting in a finished, operable said phosphate glass laser amplifier slab.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.