Indigenous development of a 2 kW RF-excited fast axial flow CO2 laser

RF-excited fast axial flow CO2 lasers in kilowatt regime are presently being used for various new scientific applications in addition to laser material processing because of its versatility and superior beam quality. We have indigenously developed a compact 2 kW RF-excited fast axial flow CO2 laser with moderate beam quality. In this paper the key design features of the laser and the associated high power capacitively coupled RF excitation technique are discussed in detail. Operational characteristics of this system are described along with the experimental findings.