JPH0716056B2 - Pulse laser oscillator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a pulse laser oscillating device having an improved structure of a laser gas flow path to a discharge part.

(Prior Art) In order to obtain good laser oscillation in a gas-mediated laser, it is necessary to generate a spatially uniform discharge in the laser medium, but it is necessary to use a TEA, TEMA-CO ₂ laser, or an excimer laser. In a pulse laser oscillator that generates a short pulse laser beam such as a laser, the operating gas pressure is as high as several atmospheres. However, it is difficult to make each of the discharge electrode, the blower, the blower duct, the cooler, and the like, which form the pulse laser oscillator, have a pressure resistant structure. Therefore, by accommodating and arranging these components in a pressure vessel and making them have the same pressure, each element is simplified, and it is usual to electrically connect the power source and the discharge electrode disposed outside the pressure vessel. ing.

FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a conventional pulse laser oscillator.
That is, the discharge electrode portion 17 including a main electrode, a preliminary ionization electrode, a peaking capacitor, etc. is supported by the electrode support plates 24, 25, and the openings 26 provided in each of them serve as a laser gas passage. Further, the laser gas is cooled by the cooler 19
A blower duct 20 provided with a blower 18 is configured to circulate the discharge electrode section 17 in a cooled state. Further, a rectifying plate 22 for uniformizing the gas flow is provided at the end of the blower duct on the laser gas supply side.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, the blower duct 20 is usually formed of a thin plate, and the straightening vanes 22 are attached to the blower duct 20 by welding as shown in FIG. Therefore, in the welding process, the air duct is likely to be thermally deformed, and the surface treatment is difficult to perform. Therefore, as shown in FIG.
It has been proposed that the above-mentioned drawbacks be eliminated by configuring the air duct to be connected to the blower duct 20 via.

However, also in this case, the bolt tightening flange portion 23, which has bad electric field conditions, is present in the high-voltage electric field, which poses a serious insulation problem. Further, since the openings 26 formed in the electrode support plates 24, 25 are formed to have substantially the same size as the opening size of the blower duct 20, the openings 26 are formed over substantially the entire length of the electrode support plates. Therefore, this electrode support plate 24, 2
5 can not be used as a discharge electric circuit, it becomes necessary to dispose an electrical connection conductor on the other side that does not face the laser gas flow in the longitudinal direction of the electrode, and the discharge electric circuit becomes long,
Since the circuit inductance increases, it has been a cause of deteriorating the discharge characteristics. Also, its structure was complicated.

The present invention has been proposed in order to eliminate the above drawbacks, and an object thereof is to be able to supply a uniform laser gas in a laminar flow state to a discharge electrode section and to shorten the discharge electric circuit length. Another object of the present invention is to provide a pulsed laser oscillator capable of obtaining stable discharge.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to a discharge electrode composed of two main electrodes arranged to face each other, a preliminary ionization electrode, a capacitor, and an electrode support plate for connecting and supporting these. In a pulse laser oscillator in which a laser section, a blower, a blower duct, a cooler, etc. are arranged in a laser container, a plurality of openings are provided in an electrode support plate arranged on the side of the discharge electrode section facing the laser gas flow. A frame plate is provided between the openings, and the frame plate is part of the discharge electric circuit.

(Operation) According to the pulsed laser oscillator of the present invention, since the gas flow path is formed by the opening and the frame plate formed in the electrode support plate disposed on the side surface of the discharge electrode section, the gas flow path is formed in the discharge electrode section. The inflowing gas flow can be made uniform. Further, since the frame plate can be used as a part of the discharge electric circuit, the discharge electric circuit length can be shortened and the circuit inductance can be reduced.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
2. The preionization electrode 3 and the peaking capacitor 4 are supported by the electrode supporting plates 5, 6 and 7, and the electrode supporting plates 8 and 9 are attached to both side surfaces facing the laser gas flow. The electrode support plates 8 and 9 are provided with
As shown in the figure, a plurality of openings 10 having the same opening width P are formed in accordance with the arrangement interval P of the preionization electrodes 3, and a frame plate 11 is provided between the openings 10. It is provided.
Further, a power source (not shown) arranged outside the laser container 14 and the main electrode 1 are electrically connected to each other via a terminal 15 that penetrates the electrode supporting plate 5 in an airtight manner, while the main electrode 2 Is electrically connected to the power supply through the electrode supporting plate 7, the electrode supporting plates 8 and 9 arranged on the side surfaces, and the terminal 16 that hermetically penetrates through the electrode supporting plate 5.

Of the electrode supporting plates arranged in the discharge electrode part, the electrode supporting plate 5 arranged in the upper part is made of an insulating material, and the other electrode supporting plates 6, 7, 8, 9 are made of a conductive material. Has been done.

In the pulse laser oscillator of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the laser gas can be rectified by the frame plate 11 between the openings formed in the electrode support plate 8 provided at the entrance of the discharge electrode section. . Further, since the installation interval of the frame plate 11 and the installation interval P of the preionization electrode 3 are the same, it is possible to reduce the turbulent flow generating elements in the discharge part.

Further, since the frame plate 11 formed on the electrode supporting plates 8 and 9 arranged on the side serves as an electric circuit, a discharge electric circuit can be formed in the lateral direction of the discharge electrode, and the circuit length can be shortened. can do. As a result, the circuit inductance is reduced and high energy can be injected into the discharge portion in a short time, so that the discharge is stabilized and stable laser energy can be obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the laser gas flow is made uniform by the opening and the frame plate formed in the electrode supporting plate disposed on the side surface of the discharge electrode portion facing the laser gas flow, and the discharge electric circuit length is reduced. Can be shortened.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the interval between the frame plates formed on the electrode support plate may not be the same as the installation interval between the preionization electrodes.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of openings are provided in the electrode support plate disposed on the side surface of the discharge electrode section facing the laser gas flow, and the space between the openings is provided. It is possible to supply a uniform laser gas in a laminar flow state to the discharge electrode section by a simple means of providing a frame plate on the discharge plate and making this frame plate a part of the discharge electric circuit. Keep it short,
It is possible to provide a pulsed laser oscillator capable of obtaining stable discharge.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a pulse laser oscillator of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a conventional pulse laser. FIG. 5 is a side view showing an example of the oscillator, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the current plate is attached. 1,2 ... Main electrode, 3 ... Preliminary ionization electrode, 4 ... Peaking capacitor, 5 ... Electrode support plate (insulating material), 6,7,8,9
...... Electrode support plate (conductive material), 10 ... Opening, 11 ... Frame plate, 12 ... Guide plate, 13 ... Blower duct, 14 ... Laser container, 15,16 ... Through terminal, 17 ... … Discharge electrode part, 18 …… blower, 19 …… cooler, 20 …… blower duct, 21 …… blower duct with baffle plate, 22 …… baffle plate, 23 …… flange, 24,2
5: Electrode support plate, 26: Opening.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A laser container including a discharge electrode section, a blower, a blower duct, a cooler, etc., which is composed of two main electrodes arranged to face each other, a preionization electrode, a capacitor, and an electrode support plate for connecting and supporting these. In the pulse laser oscillating device provided inside, a plurality of openings are provided in an electrode support plate provided on a side surface of the discharge electrode section facing the laser gas flow, and a frame plate is provided between the openings. A pulsed laser oscillator characterized in that the frame plate is part of an electric discharge circuit.