Abstract

Annular gain geometries provide large surfaces along with compact overall dimensions, which make them promising for compact high power diffusion cooled CO₂-lasers (>1 kW). The large surface enables efficient heat removal from the laser gas by heat conduction (diffusion) to the discharge walls. Diffusion cooled systems do not need gas blowers as currently used for convectively cooled lasers. However, a suitable annular resonator has to be designed meeting the requirements of high beam quality and laser efficiency.

© 1994 IEEE