Carbon-dioxide laser
Láser de dióxido de carbono
- Date
- 1964 · confidence high
- Place
- Murray Hill, New Jersey, United States
- Credited to
- Kumar Patel (Bell Labs)
- Field
- Communication
What it is
A 10.6 µm infrared gas laser that emits several watts continuously with good efficiency. It became the most widely used industrial laser for cutting, welding and surgery.
Patel, born in India, achieved it at Bell Labs in 1964; within a few years the power rose from watts to kilowatts.
What it led to
- industrial laser cutting and welding
- the laser scalpel in surgery
- engraving and marking of materials