JPH0626262B2 - Cross flow type carbon dioxide laser device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a lateral flow type carbon dioxide gas laser device, and more particularly to improvement of a discharge starting method.

[Technical background of the invention]

Conventionally, a lateral flow type carbon dioxide gas laser device is configured as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a laser wind tunnel 1 in which a predetermined gas is sealed is formed in a substantially annular shape. A discharge unit 2 is provided in the upper part of the laser wind tunnel 1, and a blower 3 is provided in the lower part. In the discharge part 2, one common electrode 4 and a plurality of divided electrodes 5 are arranged so as to face each other, and stabilizing resistors are connected in series to the divided electrodes 5, respectively. The common electrode 4 is connected to the + side of the high-voltage power supply 7, and the stabilizing resistor 6 is connected to one side.

In such a cross-flow carbon dioxide laser device, excitation of discharge sets the enclosed gas pressure to an initial value, then causes discharge, and gradually increases the discharge current to set the discharge current level to a desired value. Alternatively, after that, the discharge current is immediately increased to a desired value.

[Problems of background technology]

At the time of starting the discharge, after setting the enclosed gas pressure to the desired value as in the past, when starting the discharge, the interelectrode voltage at the start of the discharge is high in the first place, and the gas temperature of the discharge part is also cold, The voltage between the electrodes is getting higher and higher. That is, the discharge is difficult to start. If a discharge is generated in this state, there is a high possibility that problems such as an arc discharge or an abnormal discharge not to be generated between the electrodes but to another metal may occur. Furthermore, when the discharge current is raised to a desired value at the same time as the start of discharge, arc discharge and abnormal discharge are more likely to occur.

[Object of the Invention]

An object of the present invention is to provide a cross-flow carbon dioxide laser device capable of eliminating an unstable state at the time of starting discharge and stably starting discharge.

[Outline of Invention]

This invention reduces the pressure of the enclosed gas at the time of starting the discharge,
After a low current level discharge is generated, the gas pressure is gradually increased over a certain period of time, and the discharge current level is also gradually increased.When the gas pressure reaches the almost desired value, the discharge current level is increased. It is a lateral flow type carbon dioxide gas laser device equipped with control means for making the desired value.

Example of Invention

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the structure of the lateral flow carbon dioxide gas laser device of the present invention is almost the same as that of FIGS. 1 and 2, but the relationship between the enclosed gas pressure and the discharge current is shown in FIG. A control unit (not shown) for controlling like the time chart shown in FIG.

That is, at the time of starting the discharge, the control unit lowers the pressure of the enclosed gas (however, the gas mixing ratio is not changed) to cause the discharge at a low current level. This discharge may be a so-called symmer discharge (preliminary discharge) such as a pulse laser, or may be a main discharge. Since the gas pressure of this discharge is low, the voltage between the electrodes is lower than that at the time of the desired discharge, and the discharge is so-called easy to light up, and the discharge start state is easily reached even when the gas temperature of the discharge part is cold. After that, the control unit gradually increases the gas pressure over a certain period of time and gradually increases the main discharge current,
The discharge current is set to rise to the desired value when the gas pressure reaches the desired value.

〔The invention's effect〕

According to the present invention, it is possible to cause discharge in a state in which it is easier to start up than in the past, and it is possible to perform so-called soft start of discharge. As a result, the conventional problems have been solved.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 and 2 are a schematic front view showing a cross flow type carbon dioxide laser device which has been conventionally used and a circuit configuration diagram of a main part,
FIG. 3 is a time chart showing the relationship between the filling gas pressure and the discharge current in the conventional lateral flow type carbon dioxide laser device.
The figure is a time chart showing the relationship between the pressure of the enclosed gas and the discharge current in the lateral flow carbon dioxide laser device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... Laser wind tunnel, 2 ... Discharge part, 3 ... Blower, 4 ...
… Common electrode, 5 …… Divided electrode, 6 …… Stabilizing resistance, 7 ・ ・ ・
… High voltage power supply.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A laser wind tunnel, in which a predetermined gas is filled,
A discharge unit having a common electrode and a plurality of divided electrodes is provided,
In a cross-flow carbon dioxide gas laser device that generates a high-speed gas flow in this discharge section to cause discharge, at the start of discharge, the enclosed gas pressure is lowered to cause a low current level discharge, and then the gas pressure is kept constant. Gradually increase over time,
A cross-flow carbon dioxide laser device further comprising a control means for gradually increasing the discharge current level so that the discharge current level is set to a desired value when the gas pressure becomes almost an initial value.