6 Khz and above gas discharge laser system

Abstract

A high pulse repetition rate gas discharge laser system pulse power system magnetic reactor may comprise a housing comprising a core containing compartment between an inner wall of the housing, an outer wall and a bottom wall of the housing; a cooling mechanism operative to withdraw heat from the at least one of the inner wall, outer wall and bottom of the housing; at least one two magnetic cores contained within the core containing compartment; a cooling fin disposed between each of the at least two magnetic cores; and a thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism intermediate at least one of each respective cooling fin and each respective core and a respective one of the inner wall, the outer wall or the bottom wall, the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of torsion spring or leaf spring elements.

1 . A high pulse repetition rate gas discharge laser system pulse power system magnetic reactor comprising: 
 a housing comprising a core containing compartment between an inner wall of the housing, an outer wall and a bottom wall of the housing;    a cooling mechanism operative to withdraw heat from the at least one of the inner wall, outer wall and bottom of the housing;    at least one two magnetic cores contained within the core containing compartment;    a cooling fin disposed between each of the at least two magnetic cores;    a thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism intermediate at least one of each respective cooling fin and each respective core and a respective one of the inner wall, the outer wall or the bottom wall, the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of torsion spring or leaf spring elements each in contact with the respective one of the cooling fin and/or core and the respective inner wall, outer wall or bottom wall between which it is intermediate.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of interconnected torsion or leaf spring elements or a combination of such torsion or leaf spring elements.    
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism band comprising multiple contact points with distributed constriction resistance.    
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 2  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism band comprising multiple contact points with distributed constriction resistance.    
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of interconnected torsion or leaf spring elements or a combination of such torsion or leaf spring elements contained within a dovetailed groove in the respective one of the inner wall, outer wall and bottom wall.    
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 2  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of interconnected torsion or leaf spring elements or a combination of such torsion or leaf spring elements contained within a dovetailed groove in the respective one of the inner wall, outer wall and bottom wall.    
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 3  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of interconnected torsion or leaf spring elements or a combination of such torsion or leaf spring elements contained within a dovetailed groove in the respective one of the inner wall, outer wall and bottom wall.    
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 4  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of interconnected torsion or leaf spring elements or a combination of such torsion or leaf spring elements contained within a dovetailed groove in the respective one of the inner wall, outer wall and bottom wall.    
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 5  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a MultilLam electrical contact strip.    
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 6  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a MultilLam electrical contact strip.    
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 7  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a MultilLam electrical contact strip.    
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 8  further comprising: 
 the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a MultilLam electrical contact strip.    
     
     
         13 . A high pulse repetition rate gas discharge laser system pulse power system magnetic reactor comprising: 
 a housing comprising a core containing compartment between an inner wall of the housing, an outer wall and a bottom wall of the housing;    a cooling mechanism operative to withdraw heat from the at least one of the inner wall, outer wall and bottom of the housing;    at least one two magnetic cores contained within the core containing compartment each respective core being wound on a mandrel contained within the core containing compartment;    a cooling fin disposed between each of the at least two magnetic cores;    a thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism intermediate at least one of each respective cooling fin and each respective core and a respective one of the inner wall, the outer wall or the bottom wall, the thermal conductivity enhancement mechanism comprising a band comprising a plurality of torsion spring or leaf spring elements each in contact with the respective one of the cooling fin and/or core and the respective inner wall, outer wall or bottom wall between which it is intermediate.    
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 13  further comprising: 
 the mandrel comprising a material with better thermal conductivity than stainless steel.    
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 14  further comprising: 
 the mandrel comprises a beryllium copper alloy.    
     
     
         16 . A high pulse repetition rate gas discharge laser system comprising: 
 a master oscillator comprising: 
 a chamber;  
 a first pair of electrodes contained within the chamber defining a first discharge region between the first pair of electrodes;  
 a second pair of electrodes contained within the chamber defining a second discharge region between the first pair of electrodes;  
   a pulsed power system providing charging voltage in parallel to the first pair of electrodes at a pulse repetition rate and to tie second pair of electrodes at the pulse repetition rate alternating between the first pair of electrodes and the second pair of electrodes;    a first amplifier laser receiving seed laser pulses at the pulse repetition rate generated in the first discharge region;    a second amplifier laser receiving seed laser pulses at the pulse repetition rate generated in the second discharge region.    
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16  further comprising: 
 a rotary gas flow fan having a longitudinal axis generally in parallel with first discharge region and the second discharge region whereby the single fan provides sufficient gas movement to replenish the gas in the first discharge region and the second gas discharge region, respectively, between discharges between the respective first pair of electrodes and the second pair of electrodes.    
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16  further comprising: 
 a first output laser light pulse beam axis defined by the first pair of electrodes and a second output laser light pulse beam axis defined by the second pair of electrodes;    the first output laser light pulse beam not overlapping the second laser output light pulse beam longitudinally or traversely.    
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 17  further comprising: 
 a first output laser light pulse beam axis defined by the first pair of electrodes and a second output laser light pulse beam axis defined by the second pair of electrodes;    the first output laser light pulse beam not overlapping the second laser output light pulse beam longitudinally or traversely.    
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 16  further comprising: 
 high voltage pulse power system supplying at least one charging voltage to provide for an electrical discharge between the first pair of electrodes and for an electrical discharge between the second pair of electrodes in a tic-toc fashion and for timing the discharge in the first amplifier laser to the discharge between the first set of electrodes and timing the discharge in the second amplifier laser section to the discharge between the second pair of electrodes.    
     
     
         21 . The apparatus of  claim 17  further comprising: 
 high voltage pulse power system supplying at least one charging voltage to provide for an electrical discharge between the first pair of electrodes and for an electrical discharge between the second pair of electrodes in a tic-toc fashion and for timing the discharge in the first amplifier laser to the discharge between the first set of electrodes and timing the discharge in the second amplifier laser section to the discharge between the second pair of electrodes.    
     
     
         22 . The apparatus of  claim 18  further comprising: 
 high voltage pulse power system supplying at least one charging voltage to provide for an electrical discharge between the first pair of electrodes and for an electrical discharge between the second pair of electrodes in a tic-toc fashion and for timing the discharge in the first amplifier laser to the discharge between the first set of electrodes and timing the discharge in the second amplifier laser section to the discharge between the second pair of electrodes.    
     
     
         23 . The apparatus of  claim 19  further comprising: 
 high voltage pulse power system supplying at least one charging voltage to provide for an electrical discharge between the first pair of electrodes and for an electrical discharge between the second pair of electrodes in a tic-toc fashion and for timing the discharge in the first amplifier laser to the discharge between the first set of electrodes and timing the discharge in the second amplifier laser section to the discharge between the second pair of electrodes.    
     
     
         24 . A high repetition rate gas discharge laser system comprising: 
 a gas discharge chamber;    a hot chamber output window heated by the operation of the gas discharge laser chamber;    an output laser light pulse beam path enclosure downstream of the hot chamber window and comprising an ambient temperature window;    a cooling mechanism cooling the beam path enclosure intermediate the output window and the ambient window.    
     
     
         25 . The apparatus of  claim 24  further comprising: 
 an intermediate window intermediate the hot window and the ambient window, the intermediate window and the ambient window forming a cooled section of the beam enclosure.    
     
     
         26 . The apparatus of  claim 24  further comprising: 
 the windows are at or near Brewster's angle.    
     
     
         27 . The apparatus of  claim 25  further comprising: 
 the windows are at or near Brewster's angle.    
     
     
         28 . The apparatus of  claim 25  further comprising: 
 a section of the beam path enclosure between the hot window and the intermediate window is purged.    
     
     
         29 . The apparatus of  claim 25  further comprising: 
 the cooled section of the beam path enclosure is under a vacuum.    
     
     
         30 . A gas discharge laser system comprising: 
 a squirrel cage blower fan;    a first cutoff member having a first side on the discharge side of the cutoff and a second side on the opposite side from the cutoff side;    a vortex shifting pocket on the second side of the cutoff shaped to substantially prevent the formation of a vortex on the discharge side of the cutoff by causing the vortex to preferentially form within the vortex shifting pocket.    
     
     
         31 . The apparatus of  claim 30  further comprising: 
 a second cutoff member forming an opposing end of the vortex shifting pocket.    
     
     
         32 . The apparatus of  claim 30  further comprising: 
 the first cutoff member forms a sharp edge.    
     
     
         33 . The apparatus of  claim 31  further comprising: 
 each of the first and second cutoff members forms a sharp edge.    
     
     
         34 . the apparatus of  claim 30 , further comprising: 
 the vortex shifting pocket being formed by only the second cutoff  642 , wherein substantially all of the first cutoff is removed.    
     
     
         35 . The apparatus of  claim 30  further comprising: 
 the first cutoff being formed by a relatively thin leading edge and a plurality of openings through the cutoff into the vortex shifting pocket.