Chemical Lasers
The laser, an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation, is a source of nearly monochromatic, coherent, electromagnetic radiation that propagates as a beam. The chemical laser is a type of laser system that is driven by the release of energy during a chemical reaction. Chemical lasers are usually large, high power devices that integrate chemical delivery systems, a supersonic flow apparatus, and an optical resonator.
An electronic transition chemical laser
cw laser action was achieved on the 2P1/2→2P3/2 transition of the iodine atom by energy transfer from the 1Δ metastable state of O2. The excited oxygen was generated chemically by flowing chlorine gas through a basic solution of 90% H2O2. The effluent from the oxygen generator was mixed with molecular iodine at the entrance of a longitudinal flow laser cavity where the I2 was dissociated by a small amount of O2(1Σ) that was present in the flow due to energy pooling processes. The measured output power was greater than 4 mW.
Threshold oscillation of an NF(a1Δ)/BiF visible wavelength chemical laser
A novel shock tube reactor was used to pulse heat a gaseous mixture of He, FN3, and Bi(CH3)3 along a 40 cm optical path between two highly reflective mirrors. Production of NF(a1Δ) by dissociation of the azide was found to occur in a ‘‘delayed avalanche’’ approximately 50 μs after shock reflection, and weak lasing at 470 nm was observed that is assignable to electronic transitions in the BiF(A–X, Δv=3) band.