| 摘要 |
PURPOSE:To obtain a compact and highly efficient laser device having high output power, by increasing the discharge area of a cathode, preventing the transfer to arc discharge, thereby increasing input power. CONSTITUTION:A cathode 14 has a discharge part of a triangular prism shape and is arranged so that it is extended in the direction of a gas flow in this example. Therefore, the cathode area is expanded in the gas flow direction, and the transfer to the arc dicharge due to the shortage of the discharge area as seen in the conventional device is avoided. In this case, the cathode spacing in the optical axis direction is the same as the conventional spacing, but the discharge region in the gas flow direction is increased, and the input power per unit length in the optical axis direction is increased. In this constitution, the same discharge power can be inputted by the small number of cathode elements in comparison with needle shaped electrode, and the device can be made compact. The reasons for providing edge shaped tip at the electrode 14 are to specify the discharge starting point and to stabilize the discharge. |
