JPH03155689A - Iodine laser generation method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to change easily a laser light mode as occasion needs by injecting iodine in a direction parallel to a flowing direction of a mixed gas at an arbitrary position selected from a specified range. CONSTITUTION:In this iodine laser device, fluids including oxygen under an excitation state and gaseous iodine are supplied at a specified velocity to a resonator 3 which excites iodine based on the reaction of energy transfer from excitated oxygen to iodine. When an attempt is made to set an injector 6 at a position where the reaction of energy transfer takes place most actively at the center of the resonator 3, the greatest laser conversion is carried out at the central point of the resonator 3, thereby obtaining laser light whose energy density is focussed to the center of laser flux. If an attempt is made to set the injector 6 at a position deviated to the left side as for the center of the resonator 3, it will be possible to obtain the laser light having a mode responding with the distribution of energy in which the laser light thus obtained indicates high energy at one side of the luminous flux and the energy distribution is lowered gradually as it is directed outward.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an iodine laser generation method for generating iodine laser light.

[Conventional technology]

Many materials such as ruby, glass, YAG, or CO□ have been used as sources of laser light, but in recent years, chemically excited iodine lasers (Chemically Pump) have been used as sources of laser light.
Research and development of ped iodine La5er (CPIL) has progressed, and a high-power laser with a wavelength of 1.315 μm has been successfully generated. This CPIL does not require electrical energy as a pumping source for laser oscillation,
Laser oscillation can be performed using chemical fuel, and it has the advantage of having a relatively simple structure, and is widely applied industrially to processing including drilling, cutting, microscopic removal, welding, and surface treatment. The basic principle of CPIL is an energy transfer reaction expressed by the following equation. 0? CΔ) +I(Fizz) :e−0□(3Σ)+
I"(P17□)...(1) Here, 0!"('Δ)
is oxygen in an excited state, and P i /Z) is iodine in an excited state. In the reaction of equation (1), the reaction speed from the left side to the right side is fast, so the bombing is performed efficiently and the bi(P17□
) is generated. This I" (Fizz) becomes a laser medium and generates a laser beam with a wavelength of 1.315 μm. The most important thing here is that the bombing source oz'"
The question is how efficiently CΔ) can be generated. The most efficient method currently known is the decomposition reaction of hydrogen peroxide shown by the following formula. t+, o, + 2NaOH+C1g40! ”＋2Lo
+2NaC1. (2) Based on this principle, the configuration of a conventional iodine laser device is shown in FIG. In the figure, numeral 1 is an excited oxygen generating section, 2 is a trap, and 3 is a resonator. The excited oxygen generating unit l bubbles chlorine gas into an alkaline high concentration hydrogen peroxide aqueous solution housed inside (h
``('Δ) is generated, and the Ox generated here''
The gas containing ('Δ) is led to the trap 2 via the duct 4, where water is removed. This gas is sent to the resonator 3 via the duct 5, during which the duct 5
iodine is injected from an injector 6 installed at the The injector 6 has the function of injecting gaseous iodine supplied from the iodine tank 7 through a pipe 9 having a flow rate adjustment valve 8 into the gas flowing in the duct 5. The distance is selected to be an optimal value determined from the time required for dissociation of iodine molecules and energy transfer after implantation, and the lifetime of excited iodine atoms. Although not shown, dissociation means, generally a heating device, is provided for dissociating the iodine injected into the duct 5 into an atomic state.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the conventional iodine laser device configured as described above, the center position of the resonator 3 is set at the position where the reaction of equation (1) takes place most actively. With this configuration, a laser beam having a mode in which the energy distribution is concentrated at the center of the laser beam can be obtained. Laser light in this mode is suitable for processing such as drilling and cutting, but it is also used in other modes, such as surface treatment of metals, where the energy is uniformly distributed over a relatively wide area. When a laser beam of a specific mode is desired, in order to meet such a request with a conventional device, troublesome work such as replacing the mirror of the resonator 3 is required. This invention was made in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the conventional iodine laser generation method as described above. The purpose is to provide a method.

[Means to solve the problem]

In the iodine laser generation method of the present invention, the injector that injects iodine into the gas containing excited oxygen is configured to be able to change its position with respect to the center of the resonator in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the mixed gas. Ru. That is, the distance from the iodine injection position to the center of the resonator is arbitrarily changed depending on the desired energy pattern of the resulting laser light.

[For use]

As mentioned above, the position where the reaction in formula (1) is most active (reaction center position) is determined by the time required for dissociation of iodine molecules and energy transfer after injection, and the lifetime of excited iodine atoms. . Therefore, for the center of the resonator,
By changing the injection position of iodine in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the mixed gas, the center position of the reaction can be moved with respect to the center of the resonator. For example, by changing the reaction center position within a predetermined range centered on the center of the resonator, it is possible to obtain a mode of laser light having an arbitrary energy distribution within this movement range. Furthermore, by fixing or moving the iodine injection position within a predetermined period of time, the mode of the laser beam can be changed continuously.

【Example】

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 indicates an excited oxygen generating section, 2 a trap, and 3 a resonator. The gas containing 02''CΔ) generated by the above-mentioned action in the excited oxygen generating section 1 is sent to the resonator 3 via the duct 4, the trap 2, and the duct 5. In,
Gaseous iodine is supplied from the iodine tank 7 via a pipe 9 having a flow rate regulating valve 8 and is injected into the gas flowing in the duct 5 via the injector 6. The injector 6 has the form of a hollow disk, for example,
It is arranged coaxially with the duct 5 and has a plurality of nozzles on the surface on the resonator 3 side. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 10 indicates a guide provided in the duct 5 so as to extend in its axial direction, and the injector is moved along the length of this guide 10 via a suitable drive mechanism 11. Supported where possible. The drive mechanism 11 includes a drive element such as a pulse motor, and can move the injector 6 within a predetermined range along the guide 10 in response to an external drive signal. Furthermore, in order to accommodate the movement of the injector 6, the pipe 9 and the injector 6 are connected by a flexible hose 12.
A continuous supply of iodine can be maintained. In the iodine laser device configured in this way, a liquid containing excited oxygen and gaseous iodine is used in the resonator 3 that excites iodine to perform laser oscillation by an energy transfer reaction from excited oxygen to iodine. is supplied at a predetermined flow rate. Now, assuming that the injector 6 is set at a position where the reaction in equation (1) occurs most actively at the center of the resonator 3, the maximum laser conversion will occur at the center of the resonator 3. , a laser beam with energy density concentrated at the center of the laser beam can be obtained. Furthermore, when the position of the injector 6 is shifted, for example, to the left in the drawing with respect to the center of the resonator 3, the obtained laser light has high energy on one side of the light beam, and gradually increases in energy as it goes to the other side. A laser beam having a mode corresponding to a lower energy distribution is obtained. Furthermore, by continuously moving the injector 6 back and forth within a predetermined range, it is possible to obtain laser light of a mode having an arbitrary energy distribution within this movement range. Furthermore, by fixing or moving the position of the injector 6 within a predetermined period of time, the mode of the laser beam can be changed continuously. In the above embodiment, a disc-shaped injector 6 was used, but there are no restrictions on the structure of the injector as long as it can be moved in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the mixed gas. I don't accept it. In addition, by adjusting the flow rate of the iodine gas injected by the adjustment valve 8 along with the movement of the injector 6, the peak value of the energy of the laser beam obtained and the
The pattern of energy distribution can be changed to some extent. According to the results of experiments, it has been found that as the flow rate of the injected iodine gas decreases, the energy distribution of the obtained laser light becomes broader.

【Effect of the invention】

As explained above, according to the present invention, since the iodine injection position can be changed in the direction parallel to the flow direction of the mixed gas with respect to the center of the resonator,
Laser light of any mode, ie, energy distribution pattern, can be obtained. This makes it possible to meet various requirements for laser processing.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 2 is a system diagram showing the equipment used to implement which invented method, Figure 2 is a side view of the main parts of the equipment in Figure 1, and Figure 3 is a system diagram showing the conventional iodine laser equipment. . In the figure, 1 is an excited oxygen generator, 2 is a trap, 3 is a resonator, 4.5 is a duct, 6 is an injector, 7 is an iodine tank, 8 is a regulating valve, 10 is a guide, 11 is a drive mechanism, and 12 is a Each hose is shown.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a method of injecting iodine into a gas containing oxygen in an excited state and supplying the resulting mixed gas to a resonator to generate an iodine laser based on an energy transfer reaction from oxygen in an excited state to iodine. An iodine laser generation method, characterized in that iodine is injected at any position selected from within a predetermined range in a direction parallel to the flow direction of the mixed gas.