METHOD AND DEVICE FOR DETECTING DISCHARGE GAP VOLTAGE IN CARBON DIOXIDE GAS LASER OSCILLATOR

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect a discharge gap voltage easily and accurately, without having to use probes for detection, and hence without affecting discharge plasma at all. SOLUTION: A discharge gap voltage detector 1, in a carbon dioxide gas laser oscillator, comprises a voltage detector 2 for detecting the supply voltage of a discharge circuit; a current detector 3 for detecting the discharge current of the discharge circuit; a pulse generating circuit 4 for generating pulses, at an operating point where the current value detected by the current detector 3 becomes maximum; and a sample-and-hold circuit 5, for sampling the voltage value detected by the voltage detector 2 according to the pulse of the pulse generation circuit 4. The sample-and-hold circuit 5 detects the sampled voltage value as the maximum value of the discharge gap voltage. COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT