Catalog > News & Links > RF Power Tubes, the heart beating inside CO2 Lasers

May 17, 2022

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To keep your Trumpf®* lasers running at peak performance, we recommend using the original Thales tube available from Richardson Electronics and its service partners.

The tube might look like a simple part of ceramic and metal from the outside, but what is inside makes the difference!
                                     
                                                    Inside the RS3021CJ
Inside a Power Grid Tube

Here are a few interesting facts:
  1. Thales is a pioneer of pyrolytic graphite grid technology. The two control grids used in the RS2048CJC tube are grown in a furnace to the required shape and then the correct patterns are cut into them. One grid sits inside the other with only a few tenths of a millimeter between them.  The patterns exactly shadow each other and must stay separated and perfectly aligned as they heat up to around 1000° C
  2. The RS2048CJC tube is about the size of an American football, yet is designed to output nearly 50kW of power.
  3. The filament handles a current of over 100A and operates at 2000° C, yet mechanically is as fragile as spun sugar; so always handle the tubes with care.
  4. The voltage across the whole tube is over 10kV, about 100 times the voltage in your electrical outlet at home, so make sure the person installing the tube is properly trained.
  5. At full power there may be around 14kW of waste heat generated and therefore proper water cooling is essential; keep your chiller properly maintained.
  6. An interesting side note, the inside of the tube is a vacuum equivalent to the vacuum in deep space.

The tube in your Trumpf laser is a highly complex part; it is difficult to produce, and not all tubes are made the way that Thales makes them. For even more information about how Thales tubes are made, watch the video below.
 



If you have any questions, or would like to speak to one of our laser product specialists, please contact us at: laser@rell.com | 800-348-5580 | 630-208-2200
 
 
* All product and company names are trademarks (TM) or registered® trademarks of their respective holders. Use of the trademarks is solely for identification purposes, and does not imply any affiliation with or endorsement by the trademark holders.Trumpf® and Handte® and Camfil® are registered trademarks of TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG., and HANDTE Umwelttechnik GmbH and The Camfil Group respectively. Richardson Electronics, Ltd. is not associated with TRUMPF GmbH + Co. KG. or HANDTE Umwelttechnik GmbH or The Camfil Group, and the use of the Trumpf, Handte and Camfil names, trademarks and part numbers are for identification and compatibility purposes only.  All parts advertised for sale are made for and/or by Richardson Electronics, Ltd.

 
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