Abstract

Recently, rf discharge techniques have been used for many industrial CO₂ lasers. By selecting a frequency of less than a full few megahertz, a full solid-state power supply with an efficiency of more than 72% can be employed. The solid-state power supply makes laser oscillators more compact and less expensive. But in this frequency discharge, power dissipation occurs in the boundary layers, which, does not contribute to laser excitation,¹ and results in lowering the laser excitation efficiency, especially in the case of narrow gap discharge.

© 1993 Optical Society of America