CONTROL OF CO2 LASER POWER BY ACOUSTIC FIELDS

Abstract

The present study investigates the optimization of the operation of the CO2 laser in the acoustoplasma mode (i.e., dependence of the laser radiation power on the composition of the working mixture, pressure, value of the direct component of the discharge current, frequency, and modulation depth). A three-dimensional dependence on the frequency and modulation depth of the discharge current is experimentally obtained for the normalized efficiency of the conversion of the electric power supplied to the discharge tube into laser power. The maximum gain when transition to the acoustoplasma mode exceeds 2.5 times. The optimum depth of the discharge current modulation is 0.5–0.7. The laser radiation power modulation caused by the discharge current modulation is measured. Laser power is not modulated at modulation frequencies of current >1 kHz. Meanwhile, at current modulation frequencies <0.5 kHz, the modulation depth of the laser radiation power nonlinearly depends on the modulation depth of the discharge current and has a threshold character. The modulation depth of the laser radiation power is associated with the creation of an acoustoplasma and not simply with the discharge current modulation.