Beam Quality Evaluation Of A High Power Fast Axial Flow CO[sub]2[/sub]-Laser

Peter Muys; Jan Bastiaensens

doi:10.1117/12.950166

28 March 1989 Beam Quality Evaluation Of A High Power Fast Axial Flow CO₂-Laser

Peter Muys, Jan Bastiaensens

Proceedings Volume 1024, Beam Diagnostics and Beam Handling Systems; (1989) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.950166
Event: 1988 International Congress on Optical Science and Engineering, 1988, Hamburg, Germany

Abstract

we present the results of a systematic evaluation of the main optical characteristics of our lasers. The tests were performed on a 3 kW and a 5 kW model, and included measurements of the near field, the far field and the focussing quality. The radii of curvature of the mirrors were chosen to form a stable resonator. The gain coefficient and saturation intensity were determined using the Rigrod-analysis. In the recent literature, RF-excited CO₂-lasers are considered to behave superior in terms of plasma properties. In this paper, we analyse and concentrate on the optical proper-ties of our DC-excited lasers. The beam quality was measured using a rotating wire type of beam analyser. Quality factors between 80 and 95% of the diffraction limit were measured at levels between two and four kilowatt. This means that the lasers are capable of emitting the lowest order transverse mode up to the highest industrially available power levels, using DC-excitation.

Citation Download Citation

Peter Muys and Jan Bastiaensens "Beam Quality Evaluation Of A High Power Fast Axial Flow CO₂-Laser", Proc. SPIE 1024, Beam Diagnostics and Beam Handling Systems, (28 March 1989); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.950166

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