Experimental Study of CW HF Chemical Laser Amplifier Performance and Zero Power Gain

摘要

The multiline and single-line amplifier performance of a two channel Helios CL II laser was studied. Flow channel aperturing of the input beam was found to cause a significant reduction in the measured amplification ratio. The absorption of the the multiline input beam by SF6 was found to be negligible (<0.5%/cm). Maximum multiline and single line amplification was obtained when the input beam was passed through the amplifier at the XC corresponding to maximum zero power gain. Single-line amplification ratios were considerably lower than multiline amplification ratios obtained for the same input power. The P2(6) amplification ratios were lower than the P1(6) amplification ratios, even though the P2(6) zero power gain was considerably higher than the P1(6) zero power gain. The data suggested that about 1/3 of the oscillator output needs to be input to obtain amplifier output equal to the device's oscillator performance.