| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a gas laser employing a supersonic gas flow in which small size high output, high oscillation and low cost are realized. SOLUTION: Laser gas is subjected to discharge excitation by an electrode 90 in a subsonic region 5 and reaches the velocity of sound at the throat part 4, i.e., the narrowest part, of a supersonic nozzle section 1 before being accelerated to a supersonic velocity at a part on the downstream side of the throat part 4 where the channel is enlarged. The supersonic laser gas sustains the supersonic velocity in a supersonic region 2, being decelerated efficiently at the diffuser section 3 to a subsonic velocity, further decelerated at the diffuser section 3 and then cooled through a heat exchanger 59 before being fed to a pump 58. A laser beam is taken out by means of an astable optical resonator comprising an output window 22 and a total reflector 31 arranged such that the optical axis of the optical resonator passes through the subsonic region and the supersonic region. A laser beam can thereby be taken out from the subsonic region and the supersonic region and high output can be realized. |
