Continuous Wave (CW) Chemical Laser Outcoupled Beam Diagnostic System

G. Golnik; B. D. Seery; R. W. Steffen; J. M. Brooks; J. T. Lewis; P. J. Pomphrey

doi:10.1117/12.932086

30 December 1981 Continuous Wave (CW) Chemical Laser Outcoupled Beam Diagnostic System

G. Golnik, B. D. Seery, R. W. Steffen, J. M. Brooks, J. T. Lewis, P. J. Pomphrey

Proceedings Volume 0288, Los Alamos Conf on Optics '81; (1981) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.932086
Event: Los Alamos Conference on Optics, 1981, Los Alamos, United States

Abstract

Few optical technology issues are unique to the chemical laser. However, many characteristics associated with gain medium phenomena contribute to nondiffraction-limited performance of a low pressure chemical laser and thus present interesting challenges to the optical technologist. Among these are: resonant dispersion; spatial and temporal variations in both gain and refractive index; population cascade and competition effects; polarization; high op-tical gain; complicated, nonequilibrium excitation and deexcitation kinetic processes; and large equivalent Fresnel numbers. The properties of a CW chemical laser medium and output beam are determined by a complex and interrelated series of physical processes (e.g., reac-tion chemistry, flow dynamics, mode-medium interaction, resonator mirror stability, etc.). Knowledge of these processes can be gained by utilizing the characteristic frequencies at which each occurs to decouple the effects of the various processes. Correlations between beam centroid motion (jitter) and mirror acceleration is an example. In order to make such correlations, all diagnostic measurements should be made with as much temporal bandwidth as available. This paper describes the experiments, the plan for processing the data, and the expected results from the data processing.

Citation Download Citation

G. Golnik, B. D. Seery, R. W. Steffen, J. M. Brooks, J. T. Lewis, and P. J. Pomphrey "Continuous Wave (CW) Chemical Laser Outcoupled Beam Diagnostic System", Proc. SPIE 0288, Los Alamos Conf on Optics '81, (30 December 1981); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.932086

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