When selecting a laser system for the classroom, it’s important to understand the differences between DC glass lasers and RF metal lasers.
A DC glass laser consists of a long, fragile, blown-glass container filled with a laser gas mixture. Typically, the laser optics are attached directly to the glass in order to seal the laser mixture and form the laser resonator. A high voltage DC discharge is used to ionize the gas inside the glass container to produce a laser beam.
An RF metal laser has a hermetically-sealed metal chamber that contains the laser gas mixture. Precisely controlled radio frequency energy is used to create ionized gas plasma for the laser to produce a laser beam.
DC glass lasers were originally invented in the 1960s and haven’t changed much since then. That means there are several drawbacks to DC glass lasers.
- Require additional cooling equipment — Due to poor heat transfer by the glass and low efficiency of the high voltage DC discharge, a DC laser needs special water cooling equipment to achieve continuous operation.
- Dangerous, especially in education settings — Because DC glass lasers use very high DC voltage, they can also be extremely dangerous, even lethal, especially in combination with the cooling water, if water comes in contact with high voltage electronics.
- Lower quality output — Over time, the use of glass as a gas container and DC discharge between electrodes produces a contamination of the laser mixture by byproducts of the electrode’s erosion and depletion of the gas mixture. This contamination will decrease the efficiency of the laser and severely reduce the lifetime of the laser. Additionally, DC glass lasers have very low speeds of modulation because they cannot continuously switching on and off high voltage DC power.
- Short lifespan — Glass lasers can be damaged by routine handling or thermal shock from an interruption in water cooling. If no cooling flow is provided to the laser, the glass container will break, and the laser will need to be replaced.
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RF lasers, on the other hand, are often the more common choice for users.
- Contains integrated air cooling — RF lasers are designed to operate without water cooling
- Safer — RF lasers are also designed to operate without high voltage, which makes them inherently safer to operate in almost any environment, especially education.
- High quality output — RF lasers provide the highest performance with high laser beam quality
- Indefinite service life — RF lasers are compact, durable and offer a low cost of ownership.
You can read more about RF lasers here.
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