Cooling

The Ruby laser requires very efficient and reliable cooling to keep its rod and eight lamps at a reasonable operating temperature. If not properly cooled the rod and lamps could be permanently damaged.

Corrosion

The cooling water must maintain a low conductivity and be demineralized to prevent corrosion which could prevent the laser from firing and cause electrical shorts in the flashlamps. To ensure that this doesn't happen you can use store bought demineralized water, install a deionizing filter, and install a conductivity sensor.

Deionizing (DI) Filter

A deionizing filter removes corrosive ions from the water that would otherwise eat away at the cooling components and prevent the lamp from firing. The more water you can run through the filter the more ions you can remove. So you want the largest filter that can handle the most gallons per minute (gpm) possible.

Conductivity Sensor

High conductivity is the cause for the corrosive ions and the cause of shorts between the flashlamps which are extremely dangerous at their high voltages. To prevent the water from becoming too conductive you can install a conductivity sensor to alert you of too high of conductivity so you can change the water.

Copyright 2003 Michael Robinson unless otherwise noted