EXPERIMENT AND MODELING OF A SMALL-SCALE, SUPERSONIC CHEMICAL OXYGEN-IODINE LASER

We report on detailed experiment and modeling of a small-scale, supers onic chemical oxygen-iodine laser. The laser has a 5 cm long active me dium and utilizes a simple sparger-type O-2((1) Delta) chemical genera tor and a medium-size pumping system. A grid nozzle is used for iodine injection and supersonic expansion. 25 W of cw laser emission at 1.31 5 mu m are obtained in the present experiments. The small size and the simple structure of the laser system and its stable operation for lon g times make it a convenient tool for studying parameters important fo r high-power supersonic iodine lasers and for comparison to model calc ulations. The lasing power is studied as a function of the molar flow rates of the various reagents, and conditions are found for optimal op eration. Good agreement is found between the experimental results and calculations based on a simple one-dimensional semi-empirical model, p reviously developed in our laboratory and modified in the present work . The model is used to predict optimal values for parameters affecting the laser performance that are difficult to examine in the present ex perimental system.