High-power CO lasers for materials processing

Two high-power CO laser installations for industrial applications are being developed now in Russia within the framework of the Eureka Project EU113 (`CO-Eurolaser'). The electron- beam-controlled-discharge (EBCD) method for pumping those lasers is used. The first one, EBCD 10 kW CO laser, operates in continuous wave and `gentle' repetitively pulsed (RP) (peak power 20 kW, laser pulse duration 0.5 - 1 ms, pulse repetition rate 500 - 1,000 Hz) modes. The second laser, EBCD 5 - 10 kW CO laser will operate in `tough' RP mode (peak power 0.2 - 1.0 MW, single pulse energy 100 J, pulse duration 0.1 - 0.5 ms, repetition rate 50 - 100 Hz). A detander-compressor device, the main characteristics of which are reported, will be used for cooling the laser mixture of the second CO laser. Those high-power CO laser installations are supposed to be used for investigation of different laser materials processing methods on 5 micrometers wavelength for deep penetration welding, cutting, and surface treatment and also for comparative materials processing studies on CO and CO2 laser wavelengths.