| abstract |
The waveguide laser (10) has a rectangular cross-section defined by its four sidewalls (12, 14, 16, 18). The rectangular configuration gives improved gas cooling for a given cross-sectional area, requires lower voltage, which reduces arcing and has better mode selection than square or circular waveguide lasers. When a diffraction grating (28) is used, the rectangular configuration gives better line resolution than achieved by square or circular configurations. |