Abstract

A new high power CO₂-laser with a coaxial resonator has been developed for industrial welding applications. The resonator is due to the philosophy of this product - to be cheap and reliable - very simple. A toroidal end mirror and a plane outcoupling window is used. The focus radius is limited to about 200 μm, which is typical for welding. An experimental setup of an alternative resonator has been developed. This resonator is a zig-zag resonator with eight or ten folding mirrors on each side. The beam has a gaussian mode. Therefore of course this laser can do cutting applications in high quality. Theoretical consideration are discussed in comparison to experimental results.

© 1998 IEEE