OXYGEN-IODINE CHEMICAL LASER

摘要

Laser action in a purely chemically-pumped atomic iodine laser was first demonstrated at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory and has been extensively studied there. In this laser a heterogeneous chemical reaction between gaseous chlorine and a basic solution of hydrogen peroxide is used to produce a flowing stream of molecular oxygen in the excited 0_2(~1Δ) electronic state. Molecular iodine is added to the flow and is dissociated into atoms by O_2(/Σ) formed by energy pooling from 0_2( ~1Δ). Energy is transferred rapidly from 0_2(~1Δ) to the iodine atoms, and CW lasing at 1315 nanometers occurs between electronic states of atomic iodine. Since all of the energy is supplied by a chemical reaction, this is the first demonstration of a purely chemically-pumped electronic-transition laser. Because its wavelength is shorter than that of other chemical lasers under development for high energy applications, smaller optics and better beam focusing are potential advantages. The theoretical efficiency in terms of energy per unit mass of reactants appears to be good. Computer modeling of the oxygen-iodine chemical kinetics indicates that the small signal gain profile can be suitably controlled to provide efficient lasing. The results of AFWL laser experiments and computer modeling aimed at characterizing the important parameters of the oxygen-iodine chemical laser will be discussed.