The Construction and

Investigation of an
Axial Flow CO2 Laser
by

Josh Koch
What is a laser?
L - Light
A - Amplification
by

S - Stimulated
E - Emission
of

R - Radiation
 How does a laser work?
There are 4 main things needed to make a laser work.

1) Population Inversion - When a substantial

percentage of atoms are excited into an upper state
(energy level).

2) Pumping (optical, electrical, etc) - Energy is pumped

into the laser system to sustain population
inversion.

3) Metastable states - long lived excited states.

4) Mirrors – Used to reflect stimulated emission back

and forth along the resonant cavity.
Metastable
States
Electrical Discharge

Stimulated Emission
Inside a Laser Cavity
 Why is the CO2 laser different?

ƒ In the case of a CO2 laser, it is not visible light

being amplified but rather infrared (IR).

ƒ Population inversion is not a result of direct

electrical pumping but is caused by vibrational
energy interchange between N2 and CO2.
 What are vibrational modes?

ƒ In the CO2 molecule, the individual atoms

are bound by a molecular binding force that
acts much like the spring constant k of a
SHO.

ƒ When the CO2 molecule is excited, the

three atoms will vibrate much like two
masses connected by a spring.
The 3 vibrational modes of CO2
How do we excite the CO2?
ƒ Just like the Neon atom is excited by a
collision with an excited Helium atom in
the He-Ne laser, the CO2 molecule is
excited by a collision with an excited N2
molecule.

ƒ The N2 vibrational energy levels are

metastable and have roughly the same
energy as that of the asymmetric mode of
the CO2 molecule.
ƒ The analogy is similar to that of two
identical tuning forks.

ƒ When the CO2 changes from its excited

asymmetric mode to a different vibrational
mode, emission at 10.6 um is emitted.

ƒThe CO2 then drops to its ground state

through another energy transfer collision
with He.
Important transitions of the CO2 laser

Vibrational
Energy
Interchange

metastable

The excited N2
vibrational state
n = 1 matches
the energy level
of the CO2 001
state within 2 mV
 Uses of the CO2 Laser

ƒ High tech industrial cutting and welding

of metals and many other materials

ƒ Marking of metal, wood, and composites

ƒ In medicine and surgery

1 2

3
Optics
1) ZnSe, 75% reflectivity, flat,
1” diam., .12” thick
2) Ag coated, >99% reflectivity,
PL/CC, 1” diam., .12” thick,
10 m RoC
3) ZnSe, 2.5” EFL, Meniscus,
1” diam
 Vacuum
Cenco Hyvac 14 &
Suction Control Valve

Gas System
Linweld Dual Regulator &
Fine Adjustment Valve
Laser Pro Gas
6% - CO2
18% - N2
74% - He
 Test Electrodes
¼” Copper Piping &
Rubber Stoppers

Power Supply
15kV/60mA Transco
Neon Sign Transformer
on
Cenco Powerstat Variac
15,000 Volts
@
60 mA !!!
 Test
Discharges
 Electrode Water Inlet

OC End
OC
Mirror Laser Bore - Pyrex

Cooling Jacket - Pyrex

Gas Inlet

Design #1

Electrode Water Outlet

TR End
TR
Mirror Laser Bore - Pyrex

Cooling Jacket - Pyrex

Vacuum – Gas Outlet

Original Electrodes
Copper piping - .75” length
OD – 18.0 mm
ID – 15.7 mm

New Electrodes
Brass piping - 1” in length
OD – 14.3 mm
ID – 13.5 mm
 Water Inlet

OC End
OC
Mirror Electrode Laser Bore - Pyrex

Cooling Jacket - Pyrex

Gas Inlet

Improved Design

Water Outlet

TR End
TR
Mirror Electrode Laser Bore - Pyrex

Cooling Jacket - Pyrex

Vacuum – Gas Outlet

Miscellaneous Parts
Prototype 1
1.1 m long
Failed due to
discharge
length and
electrode
design.

Prototype 2
.8 m long
Failed due to
electrode
design and
cooling
jacket
fractures.
 Final Design
Discharge Length – .692 m Mirror to Mirror Length - .94 m
LeBlond Regal Lathe
Cutting Tools
Lathing the endpieces
for the laser out of
Delrin plastic rod.
1 2 3

4 5

Output Coupler
Mirror Cell
Assembly

6 7 8
1 2 3

4 5

Total Reflector
Mirror Cell
Assembly

6 7 8
Delrin End Pieces
Glass and Epoxy
Support Stand
1.2 m long
.1 m width
Aligning the Laser
Laser Burning High-Density Wood!!!
Laser Burning a Quartz Rock!!!
Setup for Beam Divergence Measurements
IR Absorption Plates and Blacklight
Gaussian Beam Profile
 Beam Waist and Divergence

wo
 Distance vs. Beam Radius

25

y = 0.0378x 2 + 0.8109x + 5.4361

R2 = 0.9996

20
Beam Radius (mm)

15

10

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Distance (m )
 Beam Divergence Data

Distance (m) Beam Diameter (mm) Beam Radius (mm) Beam Divergence (rad) Beam Divergence (deg) Wo (mm)

0.1 11.1 5.55 0.11089 6.35331 0.0609

0.5 11.3 5.65 0.02260 1.29483 0.2988

1 12.7 6.35 0.01270 0.72765 0.5317

2 14.8 7.4 0.00740 0.42399 0.9125

4 18.4 9.2 0.00460 0.26356 1.4679

6 23.4 11.7 0.00390 0.22345 1.7313

8 28.6 14.3 0.00357 0.20483 1.8887

10 34.6 17.3 0.00346 0.19824 1.9515

12 41.3 20.65 0.00344 0.19719 1.9619

wo = 1.96 mm
Low-order Hermite-gaussian resonator modes

Low-order axisymetric resonator modes

CO2 laser beam
actually in TEM01* mode
Power Measurement

Reflectance of
about 92% for IR
 Power Data
mass (kg) = 1.4

time (s) = 300

c (H2O) = 4190

Ti (deg C) Tf(deg C) Time (s)

Correction Factor (J) = 1564.27 28.8 25.6 3600

Ti (deg C) Tf (deg C) Q (J) Power (W) Corrected Power (W)

23.00 24.87 10928.36 36.43 41.64

20.31 22.01 9960.47 33.20 38.42

21.50 23.26 10288.96 34.30 39.51

Average = 21.61 23.38 10392.60 34.64 39.86

 References
Melles Griot Optics Guide - http://www.mellesgriot.com/products/optics/gb_3_1.htm
Sam’s Laser FAQ - http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasercc2.htm#cc2toc
Fester's Carbon Dioxide Laser Project -
http://home.hawaii.rr.com/tranquilitybase/livewire.html
Marc’s Technology Page - http://www.marc-eichhorn.skyenergy.info/Frame.html
CO2 Laser Theory - http://www.laserk.com/newsletters/whiteTHE.html
Oscillations and Resonance in a Carbon Dioxide Laser -
http://www.phy.davidson.edu/StuHome/derekk/Resonance/pages/co2.htm
Optics 4th Edition - Eugene Hecht
 Special Thanks
Nebraska Academy of Sciences
Sam Goldwasser
Dr. James Dugan
Dr. Steven Bever
Dr. Frederick Mattes
Dr. Neil Heckman
Thomas Kreager
Watson Signs
Howard’s Glass
Troy Schneider