Particle damage protection for high power CO

1. A gas discharge laser driven by radio frequency (RF) power, comprising:

first and second elongated planar discharge-electrodes arranged vertically spaced apart and parallel to each other, and electrically insulated from each other with the first electrode functioning as a live electrode and arranged to receive the RF power from a source thereof and the second electrode functioning as a ground electrode, with the discharge electrodes being spaced apart by first and second electrically insulating spacer strips having first and second opposite ends and arranged along opposite edges of the electrodes with inside edges thereof laterally spaced-apart by a first distance, the spacer strips having a height which determines the vertical spacing of the live and ground electrodes;

first and second mirrors forming a laser resonator extending longitudinally through the space between the discharge electrodes, such that when a discharge is created in a lasing gas between the discharge electrodes when the first electrode receives the RF power, laser radiation circulates in the laser resonator; and

a planar extension block at each end of the first electrode, longitudinally spaced part from the first electrode, vertically spaced apart from the ground electrode and electrically connected to the second electrode, the extension block having two raised portions thereon having a height about equal to the height of the spacer strips and laterally spaced apart by a second distance less than the first distance, whereby erosion of the insulating spacer strips by the laser radiation is minimized.

2. The gas discharge laser of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is shorter than the second electrode and the combined length of the first electrode, the extension blocks and the longitudinal spacings of the extension blocks is about equal to the length of the second electrode.

3. The gas discharge laser of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second electrode are co-planar.

4. The gas discharge laser of claim 1 , wherein facing edges of the raised portions of the extension block are chamfered at each end thereof for preventing stray resonances from being formed within the resonator.

5. The gas discharge laser of claim 1 , wherein the longitudinal separation of the extension blocks and the first electrode is sufficient to prevent a gas discharge occurring between the first electrode and the extension block under operating conditions of the gas discharge laser.

6. The gas discharge laser of claim 1 , wherein the spacer strips are strips of a ceramic material.

7. The gas discharge laser of claim 1 , where the insulating strips extend longitudinally beyond the first electrode and determine the vertical separation of the extension block from the second electrode, whereby the first electrode and the extension block are coplanar.

8. The gas discharge laser of FIG. 7 , wherein the spacer strips have a reduced width at each end thereof, configured to accommodate the raised portions of the extension block.

9. The gas discharge laser of claim 8 , wherein the spacer strips are strips of a ceramic material.

10. A slab laser comprising:

a housing containing a laser gas;

a pair of elongated, rectangular, planar electrodes, positioned within the housing in spaced apart, face to face relationship, one of said electrodes operating as the hot electrode and the other as the ground electrode;

a pair of mirrors aligned with opposite ends of the electrodes and defining the laser resonator and wherein the length of the hot electrode is less than the length of the ground electrode and is positioned so that the opposite ends of the hot electrode are spaced farther away from the mirrors than the ends of the ground electrode; and

a pair of metal extension blocks positioned between the respective opposite ends of the hot electrode and the associated mirror, each said extension block being spaced from the end of the hot electrode in the length direction and positioned in face to face relationship with the ground electrode, said extension blocks being connected to ground so that no laser discharge occurs between the ground electrode and the extension blocks.

11. A laser as recited in claim 10 , wherein the spacing between the extension blocks and the ends of the hot electrode is greater than the spacing between the hot electrode and the ground electrode.

12. A laser as recited in claim 11 , further including a pair of elongated dielectric spacers located between the electrodes along the side edges thereof and defining the spacing between the electrodes.

13. A laser as recited in claim 12 , wherein each said extension block includes a pair of raised plateaus formed on the surface of the block facing the ground electrode and located on the opposed side edges thereof.

14. A laser as recited in claim 13 , wherein the lateral spacing between the facing edges of opposed plateaus is less than the later spacing between the facing edges of the dielectric spacers.