Abstract

The design and performance of CO₂ waveguide lasers are at present significantly limited by existing technology. High temperature brazed and welded seals are standard practice in electron tube devices and can be readily applied to most materials required for constructing sealed-off CO₂ lasers. However, the presence of dielectric coatings on a variety of metal and semiconductor substrates calls for alternative sealing techniques. Furthermore, the difficulties in generating long or multipath waveguide bores in ceramic require methods other than drilling to achieve the necessary precision.

© 1984 Optical Society of America