JPH04329686A - Pulse laser oscillator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately and easily regulate a gap size in a preliminary ionization ultraviolet generator of a pulse laser oscillator. CONSTITUTION:One platelike conductor 20 is mounted on a plurality of capacitors 2a arranged in parallel adjacent to one main discharge electrode 1a. On the other hand, pins 21 are respectively mounted at a plurality of capacitors 2b arranged in parallel adjacent to the other main discharge electrode 1b, and a preliminary ionization ultraviolet generator 7 is formed between the conductor 20 and the pins 21. The mounting positions of the pins 21 and the capacitors 2b mounted therewith are regulated by suitably adjusting stationary parts 8.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Object of the invention]

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pulsed laser oscillation device, and more particularly to a pulsed laser oscillation device in which the construction of a pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator is improved.

0003

[Prior Art] In a gas-mediated pulse oscillation type laser, a pair of main discharge electrodes is placed in a laser gas, and a voltage with a pulsed waveform is applied between the two main discharge electrodes to create a pulsed wave within the discharge space. An excitation method that excites laser gas is common.

[0004] Conventionally used pulse laser oscillation devices include those shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. That is,
A pair of main discharge electrodes 1, 1 are arranged facing each other, and a main discharge space 12 surrounded by both electrodes is filled with laser gas. Further, a plurality of capacitors 2 for pre-ionization are connected in parallel to the sides of the main discharge electrode 1, and a pin 3 for generating pre-ionization ultraviolet rays is attached to each of the capacitors 2, and each of the capacitors 2 facing the A pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7 is formed between the pins.

When an electric pulse is applied from the pulse power source 10 to the discharge section 11 configured in this manner, a spark discharge is generated in each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7, and the main discharge space 12 is emitted from the side surface of the main discharge electrode 1. is irradiated with ultraviolet light. The main discharge space 12 is pre-ionized by this ultraviolet light, and then, when a pulse voltage is applied from the capacitor 2 to the main discharge space 12, the main discharge space 12 becomes a glow discharge state, and the laser gas in the main discharge space is excited. A desired laser light output can be obtained.

[0006]

However, in the pulsed laser oscillation device as described above, in order to uniformly pre-ionize the main discharge space 12 and ignite a stable glow discharge, it is necessary to obtain the desired laser output. , it is necessary to uniformly irradiate the main discharge space 12 with ultraviolet rays. For this purpose, it is necessary to equalize the ultraviolet rays generated in each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator 7, and to achieve this purpose, the current supplied to each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator 7 and the amount of pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray It is necessary to equalize the voltages at which spark discharge is ignited in the generating section 7.

That is, since the current flowing through the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator 7 is determined by the capacitance of the capacitor 2 connected to the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator 7, conventionally, as shown in FIGS. One pin 3 was attached to each capacitor 2, and the capacitances of the capacitors connected to the preionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7 were made equal, so that the current flowing through the preionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7 was made uniform. In addition, in order to equalize the voltage at which the glow discharge is ignited in each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7, each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7 The gap dimensions of the ionizing ultraviolet ray generating parts 7 are made equal to each other.

However, in the conventional pulsed laser oscillation device, in order to make the gap size of each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator 7 the same, it is necessary to use a plurality of pairs of pins 3 arranged oppositely and each capacitor to which they are attached. 2 and the fixing part 8 must be adjusted separately, and the dimensional accuracy of the gap between the preionizing ultraviolet ray generating part 7 is not good. Furthermore, since all the pins 3 must be adjusted, there are a large number of adjustment points, making the adjustment work complicated.

The present invention was proposed to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, and its purpose is to easily adjust the gap size in the preionizing ultraviolet ray generating section with high precision. The object of the present invention is to provide a pulsed laser oscillation device that can perform the following steps.

[Configuration of the invention]

[0011]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the present invention, a pair of main discharge electrodes are arranged in a laser gas with a discharge space in between, and a plurality of capacitors are arranged in parallel adjacent to each of the pair of main discharge electrodes. In the pulsed laser oscillation device, in which the capacitors are disposed facing each other via a pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator, a plate-shaped conductor is attached to a plurality of capacitors disposed adjacent to one of the main discharge electrodes, A pin for generating pre-ionizing ultraviolet light is attached to each of the multiple capacitors arranged adjacent to the other main discharge electrode, and the mounting position of these pins and the capacitor to which they are attached can be adjusted. It is characterized by being configured as follows.

0012

[Function] According to the pulsed laser oscillator of the present invention having the above configuration, the fixed part of the pin for generating pre-ionizing ultraviolet rays is only on one side of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating part, and the part between the pin and the plate-shaped conductor is fixed. Since the configuration is such that the gap is adjusted, the adjustment work becomes easy.

[0013] Furthermore, the gap voltages at the start of spark discharge of each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section are equal, and
Since the conductor of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section adjacent to one main discharge electrode is divided into conductors for each capacitor, the current of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section is divided in the capacitor section, and each pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section A uniform current flows through the area. As a result, the preionization intensity from each preionization ultraviolet ray generating section becomes uniform, a uniform glow discharge is obtained in the main discharge space, and a desired laser output can be obtained.

[0014]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be explained in detail below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Note that the same members as those of the conventional type shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a pair of main discharge electrodes 1a and 1b are disposed in the laser gas facing each other with a main discharge space 12 in between. A plurality of sets of pre-ionization capacitors 2a, 2b are arranged adjacent to each of the discharge electrodes 1a, 1b. These capacitors 2a and 2b are arranged to face each other via the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator 7, and one electrode of each capacitor is connected to the adjacent main discharge electrode 1, so that the same electrode as the main discharge electrode It is configured to have a potential.

Further, one plate-shaped conductor 20 is attached to a plurality of capacitors 2a arranged in parallel adjacent to one main discharge electrode 1a. On the other hand, a pin 21 is attached to each capacitor to a plurality of capacitors 2b arranged in parallel adjacent to the other main discharge electrode 1b.
A pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7 is formed between the plate-shaped conductor 20 and each pin 21. Further, the mounting position of the pin 21 and each capacitor 2b to which it is mounted can be adjusted by appropriately adjusting each fixing portion 8, as in the conventional case.

In the pulsed laser oscillation device of this embodiment having such a configuration, one of the conductors disposed with the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generator 7 sandwiched therebetween is the plate-shaped conductor 20.
In order to make the gap dimensions of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7 the same, the mounting positions of the pins 21 disposed opposite to the plate-shaped conductor 20 and the capacitors 2b to which they are attached should be changed from each fixing section 8. This can be done by adjusting as appropriate.

As a result, each preionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7
The gap voltages at the start of spark discharge can be made equal. Further, the conductor of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section adjacent to one main discharge electrode 1b is a conductor (pin 21) divided for each capacitor 2b, so the current of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7 is transmitted to each capacitor. A uniform current flows through each pre-ionizing ultraviolet generating section. For this reason, the preionization intensity from each preionization ultraviolet ray generating section becomes uniform, a uniform glow discharge is obtained in the main discharge space 12, and a desired laser output can be obtained.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pin 21 and the capacitor 1b are fixed only on one side of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section 7, and the gap between the pin 21 and the plate-shaped conductor 20 is adjusted. This structure facilitates adjustment work. Furthermore, since the dimensions of the pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generating section can be adjusted with excellent precision, the main discharge space can be pre-ionized uniformly, a stable glow discharge can be ignited, and a desired laser output can be obtained.

[0020]

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, plate-shaped conductors are attached to a plurality of capacitors arranged adjacent to one of the main discharge electrodes, and the plate conductors are arranged adjacent to the other main discharge electrode. A pin for generating pre-ionizing ultraviolet rays is attached to each capacitor, and the mounting position of these pins and the capacitor to which they are attached can be adjusted. It is possible to provide a pulsed laser oscillation device in which the gap size in the generation portion can be easily adjusted with high precision.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing an embodiment of the pulsed laser oscillation device of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] A side view showing the discharge section of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1.

[Figure 3] Circuit diagram showing an example of a conventional pulsed laser oscillation device

[Fig. 4] Side view showing the conventional discharge section shown in Fig. 3.

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Main discharge electrode 2...Capacitor 3...Pin 7... Pre-ionizing ultraviolet ray generation section 8...Fixed part 10...Pulse power supply 11...Discharge part 12...Main discharge space 20...Plate conductor 21...pin

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A pair of main discharge electrodes are disposed in a laser gas with a discharge space in between, a plurality of capacitors are disposed in parallel adjacent to each of the pair of main discharge electrodes, and the capacitor is a reserve. In a pulsed laser oscillation device that is arranged opposite to each other with an ionizing ultraviolet ray generator in between, a plate-shaped conductor is attached to a plurality of capacitors arranged adjacent to one of the main discharge electrodes, and a plate-shaped conductor is attached to a plurality of capacitors arranged adjacent to the other main discharge electrode. A pin for generating pre-ionizing ultraviolet rays is attached to each capacitor, and the mounting position between these pins and the capacitor to which they are attached can be adjusted. A pulsed laser oscillation device characterized by: