Novel laser device and method

Abstract

The invention relates to a laser device and a method. The device adopts two small hemispheres, and an insulating material ring 104 is arranged in the middle. The laser injected into the interior can be externally injected or self-generated, 101 and 106 are fixed ports of a high-voltage direct-current electrode, high-temperature plasma can be generated by applying direct-current high voltage, 102 is a quartz window through which incident laser passes, 103 is a metal hemisphere, 104 is an insulating circular ring and is used for avoiding short circuit of the high-voltage direct-current electrode, 105 represents a hemispherical sphere mirror point, and 105 represents a semi-spherical sphere mirror point. The upper and lower hemispheres of the reflection points adopt the same number of reflection points, so that the incident light beam can be ensured to coincide with the front laser beam after being reflected for multiple times, and the cavity is similar to a folded cavity in the laser technology. 107 is used for extracting the rest gas in the device or injecting the required gas, and 108 is an injection port of the mixed gas required by the gas laser. Plasma generated by the upper electrode and the lower electrode provides energy for a gain medium needed by the laser, photons with corresponding wavelengths are generated, the photons are continuously transmitted back and forth in a closed-loop light path formed by continuous reflection of the reflecting surfaces of the spherical laser to be amplified, and finally stable laser output is formed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of laser technology, and in particular to a small laser device and method. Background Technology

[0002] This invention utilizes folded cavity technology to design a small laser. By using several reflective surfaces at specific angles on the upper and lower hemispheres of the inner surface of a sphere, photons travel back and forth multiple times inside the sphere. After being continuously amplified by the gain medium, laser output is finally formed.

[0003] Taking a CO2 laser as an example, plasma is generated by exciting a mixed gas (CO2, N2, He, etc.) through discharge. This causes CO2 molecules to transition from a high-energy state to a low-energy state, releasing infrared laser light with a wavelength of 10.6 μm. By applying a voltage to the upper and lower hemispheres and injecting a CO2 mixed gas through an air injection port, the multiple reflective surfaces constructed on the inner surface of the sphere, as proposed in this invention, further increase the opportunity for photons to pass through the gain medium multiple times, thereby reducing the size of the laser. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide a small laser that is simple in structure, easy to operate, and highly safe.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the basic unit of the present invention includes: a high-temperature resistant metal spherical shell for multiple laser reciprocating motions, an insulating ring between the upper and lower metal hemispheres, a quartz window for laser incident on the sphere, a vacuum or gas injection hole, a mixed gas injection hole, a quartz glass observation window, and DC high-voltage electrodes loaded on the two hemispherical metal spheres.

[0006] The aforementioned small laser device provides an environment for high-energy lasers to travel back and forth multiple times within a metal spherical shell, similar to an optical resonant cavity in a laser, providing sufficient pump energy for the mixed gas required by a gas laser.

[0007] The aforementioned facility consists of an insulating ring installed between two metal hemispheres, serving as an insulating barrier. The insulating ring can be made of insulating ceramic. Two DC high-voltage electrodes are fixed to the top of each of the two hemispheres. When a DC voltage is applied to the two electrodes, a DC plasma is formed in the center of the spheres. The CO2 mixture inside the spheres provides energy gain to the photons traveling back and forth, ultimately resulting in laser output.

[0008] The quartz window of the laser incident sphere in the above-mentioned facility is used to provide the incident point of high-energy laser. After passing through the window, the laser undergoes multiple reflections to form a closed-loop laser path that repeats continuously.

[0009] The vacuum port of the aforementioned facility can be used to inject gaseous media such as CO2 that can generate gain.

[0010] The quartz glass observation window of the facility is mainly used for observing whether the laser has stable output.

[0011] The direct current high voltage electrode of the facility is mainly used for generating high temperature plasma,

[0012] The compact laser device and method can effectively save the space of the laser compared with the traditional gas laser which needs to occupy a large space.

[0013] The present application uses the inner surfaces of the upper and lower hemispheres of the sphere to construct several cross reflection surfaces, realizes the multiple back-and-forth transmission of the laser in the sphere, and finally coincides with the incident light, which significantly increases the energy input of the gas molecules providing gain medium in the sphere during the multiple back-and-forth process of the laser beam, and the upper and lower hemispheres will form arc discharge in the middle region by applying high voltage direct current, generating high temperature plasma to provide sufficient pumping energy for laser output.

[0014] The innovative micro laser device and method provided by the present application can effectively reduce the volume of the laser once the scheme is feasible. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the spherical laser device provided by the present application.

[0016] Figure 2 is a top view of the circular return constructed by the five reflection points of the upper or lower hemisphere.

[0017] Figure 3 is a side view of the reflection points inside the upper and lower hemispheres.

[0018] Figure 4 is a view of the incident and emitted light of a reflection point on the inner surface of the sphere.

[0019] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the cross section of the hole in the middle of the sphere.

[0020] Figure 6 is a top view of the hole in the middle of the sphere. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiments are examples for illustrating the present application, and do not mean that the present application is limited to the embodiments. The present application can be implemented in various ways without departing from the gist thereof.

[0022] Embodiment 1 of the Invention

[0023] Figure 1The schematic diagram of the new laser device proposed by the application is shown. 101 and 106 are fixed ports of high-voltage direct-current electrodes. By applying a direct-current high voltage, plasma will be generated to provide pumping energy for the gain medium. 102 is a quartz window through which the incident laser passes. 103 is a metal hemisphere. 104 is a ceramic insulating ring used to avoid short circuit of the high-voltage direct-current electrode. 105 represents the reflection points on the hemispherical mirror surface. Odd number of reflection points are used on the upper and lower hemispheres, which can ensure that the incident beam is coincident with the previous laser beam after multiple reflections, similar to the folded cavity in laser technology. 107 is used to extract the remaining gas in the device or inject gas. 108 is the gas injection port. 109 is a quartz window for observing the inside of the sphere.

[0024] Figure 2 The schematic diagram of the new laser device proposed by the application is shown. 101 and 106 are fixed ports of high-voltage direct-current electrodes. By applying a direct-current high voltage, plasma will be generated to provide pumping energy for the gain medium. 102 is a quartz window through which the incident laser passes. 103 is a metal hemisphere. 104 is a ceramic insulating ring used to avoid short circuit of the high-voltage direct-current electrode. 105 represents the reflection points on the hemispherical mirror surface. Odd number of reflection points are used on the upper and lower hemispheres, which can ensure that the incident beam is coincident with the previous laser beam after multiple reflections, similar to the folded cavity in laser technology. 107 is used to extract the remaining gas in the device or inject gas. 108 is the gas injection port. 109 is a quartz window for observing the inside of the sphere.

[0025] Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the new laser device proposed by the application is shown. 101 and 106 are fixed ports of high-voltage direct-current electrodes. By applying a direct-current high voltage, plasma will be generated to provide pumping energy for the gain medium. 102 is a quartz window through which the incident laser passes. 103 is a metal hemisphere. 104 is a ceramic insulating ring used to avoid short circuit of the high-voltage direct-current electrode. 105 represents the reflection points on the hemispherical mirror surface. Odd number of reflection points are used on the upper and lower hemispheres, which can ensure that the incident beam is coincident with the previous laser beam after multiple reflections, similar to the folded cavity in laser technology. 107 is used to extract the remaining gas in the device or inject gas. 108 is the gas injection port. 109 is a quartz window for observing the inside of the sphere.

[0026] Figure 4 The schematic diagram of the new laser device proposed by the application is shown. 101 and 106 are fixed ports of high-voltage direct-current electrodes. By applying a direct-current high voltage, plasma will be generated to provide pumping energy for the gain medium. 102 is a quartz window through which the incident laser passes. 103 is a metal hemisphere. 104 is a ceramic insulating ring used to avoid short circuit of the high-voltage direct-current electrode. 105 represents the reflection points on the hemispherical mirror surface. Odd number of reflection points are used on the upper and lower hemispheres, which can ensure that the incident beam is coincident with the previous laser beam after multiple reflections, similar to the folded cavity in laser technology. 107 is used to extract the remaining gas in the device or inject gas. 108 is the gas injection port. 109 is a quartz window for observing the inside of the sphere.

[0027] The schematic diagram of the new laser device proposed by the application is shown. 101 and 106 are fixed ports of high-voltage direct-current electrodes. By applying a direct-current high voltage, plasma will be generated to provide pumping energy for the gain medium. 102 is a quartz window through which the incident laser passes. 103 is a metal hemisphere. 104 is a ceramic insulating ring used to avoid short circuit of the high-voltage direct-current electrode. 105 represents the reflection points on the hemispherical mirror surface. Odd number of reflection points are used on the upper and lower hemispheres, which can ensure that the incident beam is coincident with the previous laser beam after multiple reflections, similar to the folded cavity in laser technology. 107 is used to extract the remaining gas in the device or inject gas. 108 is the gas injection port. 109 is a quartz window for observing the inside of the sphere.

[0028] Embodiment 2 of the application

[0029] The above-mentioned mode 1 uses multiple reflection surfaces inside the sphere to form a closed loop for photon transmission, and under the action of the pump source, the gain medium is continuously provided with energy. Taking a CO2 laser as an example, the discharge excitation of the mixed gas (CO2, N2, He, etc.) generates plasma, and the CO2 molecules jump from the high-energy state to the low-energy state to release infrared laser of 10.6 μm wavelength. The excited photons are transmitted back and forth in the closed loop formed by the multiple reflection surfaces of the upper and lower hemispheres in the sphere, and finally form stable laser output.

[0030] In order to reduce the damage of the plasma to the mirror, a circular hole is opened in the middle of the structure of the spherical laser of the present application, which does not affect the transmission of the photons in the sphere. Then, a conductive ring is added outside the middle circular hole and the sphere to form a toroidal magnetic field, which is similar to the tokamak structure. The toroidal magnetic field formed can confine the plasma in the middle of the toroidal magnetic field, so as to avoid the damage of the plasma to the mirror in the cavity. Figure 5 The cross-sectional view of the spherical laser with a hole in the middle is shown in FIG. 5. 501 is the through hole in the middle of the sphere, 502 is the insulating ring between the upper and lower hemispheres, 503 is the film-coated reflection surface inside the sphere, and 504 is the conductive ring for forming a toroidal magnetic field. Figure 6 The top view of the spherical laser with a hole in the middle is shown in FIG. 6. 601 is the through hole in the middle of the sphere, and 602 is the film-coated reflection surface inside the sphere. From the top view, it can be seen that the transmission of the photons in the sphere is not affected by the through hole in the middle.

[0031] In embodiment 2, the toroidal magnetic field generated by the closed loop conductive structure passing through the through hole in the present application can effectively confine the plasma in the toroidal magnetic field, and can effectively avoid the damage of the high-temperature plasma to the multiple reflection surfaces inside the sphere. In addition to effectively reducing the size of the gas laser by using the structure similar to the folded cavity, this structure also has the opportunity to be used in other fields such as new energy or nuclear energy.

Claims

1. A method of micro-laser, characterized by The high-temperature-resistant metal shell provides multiple round trips for the laser, the insulating ring is between the upper and lower metal hemispheres, the quartz window is for the laser to enter the sphere, there are no less than one gas inlet and outlet hole, the quartz glass observation window, and the DC high-voltage electrode is loaded on the two hemispherical metal spheres.

2. The refractory metal spherical shell of claim 1, wherein A reaction space is provided for the laser, the metal shell is divided into upper and lower hemispherical shells, and a plurality of mirror reflecting surfaces are symmetrically distributed on the symmetric hemispherical shells to ensure that the laser beam coincides with the initial transmission beam after passing through the reflecting surfaces and ensures that the laser can continuously circulate and transmit in such a similar folded cavity.

3. The insulating ring between two metal hemispheres of claim 1, wherein The insulating ring insulates and isolates the upper and lower metal hemispheres.

4. The not less than one gas access port of claim 1, wherein The gas in the sphere can be extracted through one of the holes to achieve a vacuum state or other gas materials (such as CO2 gas) can be injected.

5. The DC high voltage electrode loaded on two hemispherical metal balls according to claim 1, characterized in that A high-voltage DC voltage is provided to generate high-temperature plasma and provide sufficient pumping energy for the gain medium of the laser.

6. A laser device, characterized by The high-temperature-resistant metal shell provides multiple round trips for the laser, the insulating ring is between the upper and lower metal hemispheres, the quartz window is for the laser to enter the sphere, there are no less than one gas inlet and outlet hole, the quartz glass observation window, and the DC high-voltage electrode is loaded on the two hemispherical metal spheres.

7. The refractory metal sphere of claim 6, wherein A reaction space is provided for the laser, the metal shell is divided into upper and lower hemispherical shells, and a plurality of mirror reflecting surfaces are symmetrically distributed on the symmetric hemispherical shells to ensure that the laser beam coincides with the initial transmission beam after passing through the reflecting surfaces and ensures that the laser can continuously circulate and transmit in such a similar folded cavity.

8. The insulating ring according to claim 6, wherein The insulating ring insulates and isolates the upper and lower metal hemispheres.

9. The not less than one gas access port of claim 6, wherein The gas in the sphere can be extracted through one of the holes to achieve a vacuum state or other gas materials (such as CO2 gas) can be injected.

10. The DC high voltage electrode loaded on two hemispherical metal balls according to claim 6, characterized in that A high-voltage DC voltage is provided to generate high-temperature plasma and provide sufficient pumping energy for the gain medium of the laser.

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