CO2 Laser: Advantages and Disadvantages

This page outlines the pros and cons of CO2 lasers, exploring their benefits and drawbacks.

What is a CO2 Laser?

Introduction:

• The CO2 laser is a highly useful molecular gas laser.
• It lases at a wavelength of approximately 9.6 to 10.6 µm.
• This lasing is a result of the quantized vibrational and rotational energy levels of the CO2 molecules.
• Its structural arrangement is similar to that of an argon laser.

• In an actual CO2 laser system, CO2 gas is mixed with N2 and He.
• The function of N2 and He is to provide an excited energy state to CO2 molecules.
• The typical power of the laser is about 500 to 15000 Watts in CW (Continuous Wave) mode with an efficiency of about 30%. This is among the highest of gas laser types.
• There are various types of CO2 lasers. High power pulsed/CW lasers use transverse gas flow with fans which move gas through a laminar flow discharge region into a cooling region and back again. Low power lasers often use waveguide structures coupled with RF excitation to produce small and compact systems.

Benefits or Advantages of CO2 Laser

Following are the benefits or advantages of CO2 Laser:

• It produces very high power with relative efficiency. Hence, it is primarily used for materials processing applications.
• CO2 lasers offer a low cost per watt in addition to good beam quality. It generates high power output, ranging from a few watts to 15 KWatts.
• Its efficiency is better than He-Ne and argon laser types.
• It has a long lifespan of about 20,000 hours.
• It has a small size per watt of output power.

Drawbacks or Disadvantages of CO2 Laser

Following are the drawbacks or disadvantages of CO2 Laser:

• The divergence of CO2 lasers is greater than He-Ne and argon lasers. Divergence ranges from 1 to 10 milli radians.
• Beam width varies from 3 mm to 100 mm.
• It has a short and thick optical cavity.
• It requires a cooling system, which is a disadvantage for some configurations.
• Its cost is comparatively higher than other laser types.