Housing system for a laser

摘要

A laser such as a wave-guide laser with its housing is encased in a second housing which is also filled with laser gas. The second housing is sealed in a gas tight manner and includes a cylindrical portion, which may be made of metal, and a cap made at least partially of glass or ceramic. The cap is provided with a neck around the laser beam passage. The neck has a rated or predetermined break strength to make sure that a portion of the cap will break off at the neck when the laser is operated. The cap is provided with a device for monitoring or checking the operation status of the laser. The checking device includes a bellows, the interior of which is connected to sense the pressure inside the second housing. Further indicators showing whether the laser is operating are also provided in the cap which breaks off automatically with the aid of the bellows when the latter expands in response to a perforation of the cap by the initial laser operation. This type of structure increases the shelf life of the laser very substantially as compared to conventional lasers of this type because the second housing prevents the helium diffusion which takes place in conventional lasers.