Mixed isotope multiatmosphere CO2laser

A sealed transversely excited multiatmosphere pulsed laser is reported in which the active media is a combination of three isotopes:¹²C¹⁶O2,¹²C¹⁸O2, and¹²C¹⁶O¹⁸O. Lasing action is obtained on all 12 vibrational-rotational bands with continuous tuning observed between line centers at pressuresfrac{1}{2}tofrac{1}{4}of those required with conventional¹²C¹⁶O2lasers.     

Injection mode locking of a multiatmosphere TE CO2laser

A multiatmosphere TE CO2laser operated at pressures up to 8 atm has been injection mode-locked. Peak single pulse energies of ∼1 J were obtained in a 1-ns pulse when the 70 cm³device was operated at ∼8 atm.     

Radial gain profiles in CO2laser discharges

Measurements of the gain of the P(20), 10.6 μ, transition of CO2have been made in a flowing He, N2, CO2amplifier. Both small-signal and saturated gain conditions were investigated as a function of radial position. At low discharge currents, the radial small-signal gain profile followed a J0Bessel function distribution as predicted from the electron density distribution, while at higher currents, the gain was nearly constant across the tube diameter. Further increases in the current produced a lower gain on the tube axis than near the tube wall. This spatial behavior of the small-signal gain with discharge current can be understood following the theoretical models of Gordietz et al. or more recently of Wiegand et al. The theory indicates the small-signal gain behavior is largely explained by the increase of axial gas temperature with discharge current. Gain measurements at signal levels high enough to cause gain saturation indicate the gain is harder to saturate on the tube axis than near the tube wall. An analysis of the experimental data shows that the gain-saturation parameter increases with current density.     

Operational characteristics of a PIE CO2laser

The design and operational characteristics of a high power pulser-sustained CW CO2laser is described. The "photoinitiated impulse-enhanced electrically excited" structure possesses operational features similar to an "electron beam-sustained" device and as such may provide a relatively simple and inexpensive alternative in high power CO2laser design.     

Velocity dependence of the gain of a CO2laser

Measurements of the small signal gain and saturation intensity of a CO2-N2-He laser are made as a function of gas flow velocity over the range fromsim 0-10m/s. The small signal gain increases and the saturation intensity decreases with increased gas velocity. For intermediate flow velocities with a gas transit time in the laser of a second, the gain also depends on the direction of propagation of the amplified beam with respect to the gas flow. The directional dependence is due to an axial gradient in the saturation intensity. The transit time of the gas in the 2.5-m amplifier spans the time required for appreciable generation of CO by dissociation of the CO2and the variation of the laser gain with velocity is attributed to the effects of CO on the inversion of the laser medium.     

Whispering-gallery CO2laser

The design and operation of a CW CO2laser based on the whispering-gallery principle is reported. The optical cavity consists of a portion of the equatorial region of a torus terminated by two flat mirrors. In agreement with theoretical expectations, the output beam is found to be TE polarized, and to consist of low-order Airy-Hermite-Gaussian modes.     

Q-switched CO2laser

Experimental studies of a rotating-mirrorQ-switched CO2laser have been undertaken to obtain high peak powers at 10.6-μ wavelength. TheQ-switched pulse has a temporal structure consisting of two intensity peaks and is similar to the temporal behavior of a slowQ-switched CO2laser. Based on the gas pressure dependence it appears that the pulse structure and duration are influenced by collision-induced relaxations of the laser medium. Using an oscillator-amplifier system peak powers of 120 kW with pulsewidths of 200 ns have been obtained.     

Gain characteristics of a MAGPIE coaxial CO2laser system

Gain coefficient measurements of a MAGPIE (magnetically stabilized, photoinitiated, impulse-enhanced, electrically excited) coaxial CO2laser discharge are presented. The effects of gas composition, input power, pulser ionization, and magnetic field on gain are examined. Measurements of the radial gain profile and saturation intensity are also discussed. A maximum small-signal gain of 0.30 m^-1is observed, along with a saturation intensity of 190 W/cm².     

Simultaneous CO and CO2laser

CW laser action at both the 5- and 10.6-μm wavelength regions has been achieved simultaneously from CO and CO2molecules in a slowly flowing mixture of He-air-CO. Two dc discharges through the premixed gases within a segmented laser cavity were used to provide molecular excitation and generate CO2molecules by discharge-initiated CO oxidation. Both liquid nitrogen and room-temperature water cooling were used concurrently. A total power of about 2 W has been achieved with approximately half the power in each wavelength region.     

Folded-path atmospheric-pressure CO2laser

A folded-path transversely excited atmospheric-pressure CO2laser utilizing shower or brush discharges is described. The output pulse has an initial peak 0.4 μs wide followed by a tail2-3 mus long. A peak power of 0.2 MW with 4.4 percent efficiency is obtained. By rotating one of the mirrors of the resonator the tail is eliminated, yielding a pulse 0.2 μs wide of the same peak power.     

Q-switching of the CO2laser

The laser pulses obtainable from aQ-switched CO2laser are calculated and compared with the results of a number of different techniques of performing theQ-switching. The continuously operating laser is considered first. The transition rates between the molecular vibrational states and their occupations are derived from the measured CW power. The laser tube was 1.9 meters long, had a diameter of 2.4 cm, and used flowing CO2-N2-He gas. For rapidQ-switching, maximum pulses of 4.5 mJ energy and 85 ns half width are predicted. Such pulses were observed with a rotating mirrorQ-switch. However, that technique has a limited pulse repetition rate and experiments on closely spaced pulses are difficult to interpret. A more flexible technique, which allows a much greater variation in the experimental parameters, is the use of a fast shutter to interrupt the laser beam in the cavity. While this switch is somewhat slower than the rotating mirror it does produce pulses of the same energy at repetition rates up to 5000 per second, and smaller pulses at any desired higher rate. From these measurements the upper and lower laser level lifetimes are deduced. They are found to agree well with the values obtained from the CW measurements.     

Gain and fluorescence characteristics of flowing CO2laser systems

Single-pass gain has been measured for flowing CO2, CO2-N2, CO2-He, CO2-N2-He, and CO2-N2-H2mixes. The gain for CO2-N2mixes varies as d^-0.9, wheredis the tube diameter. The diameter dependence of the gain is less pronounced for CO2- N2-He mixes; a peak gain of 4.7 dB/m was obtained in a 1/2 in diam tube. Fluorescence data indicate that the upper laser level population is saturated at 100 mA in all cases. The addition of He, H2, or O2depopulates the lower laser level; helium further increases the population of the upper laser level. The addition of CO increases the population of the upper laser level, probably by resonant transfer from the excited vibrational states of CO.     

Small-signal gain of a CO2laser amplifier utilizing a white optical reflector design

A small-signal gain of 39 dB in a nonresonant multi-path CO2laser amplifier with a discharge length of 65 cm is reported. The multipath system employed is a modified White optical reflector design. An unsaturated gain of 39 dB was observed for signals smaller than 10^-5watt. No noise component, due to the amplifier, was detected for signals as small as5 times 10^{-8}watt.     

Thin film-coated waveguide CO2laser

A new type of radio frequency (RF) excited waveguide laser with a rectangular cross section is proposed which is composed of two dielectric or lossy materials and two metallic electrodes which are coated by a thin film with small absorptions. Theoretical and experimental analyses show that the maximum output powers of the new waveguide laser are much larger than those of conventional ones.     

Prediction of CO2laser signatures

Based on previous work, a method is presented to predict the signature of a CO2laser, i.e., the output power as a function of the cavity length. For that purpose the normalized laser intensity curve versus cavity length is determined for a single line. The calculation is based on a homogeneously broadened line (Lorentzian shape) and takes into account the line dispersion. The curve is a parabola and its shape is assumed as being the same for all lines considered. From calculated positions of line centers and small-signal-gain data the signature can be drawn with the help of a parabolic French curve. The transition from one line to the next is assumed to occur at crossings of the normalized intensity curves. The theory agrees well with the experiment.     

Large aperture CO2laser discharges

Large aperture high-pressure gas laser discharges are a prerequisite for the development of high-energy gas lasers of sufficient power for the production of plasmas of thermonuclear interest. Of the several approaches being followed toward the attainment of such discharges, one utilizing weak volumetric preionization of the active gas region produced by UV radiation is described. The use of this technique has resulted in the successful generation of atmospheric-pressure CO2laser discharges between electrodes separated by 30 cm, having total cross sections of ∼600 cm². With input energies of ∼200 J/1 small signal gain values of 4-5 percent cm^-1were measured in 1 : 1 : 3 gas mixtures of CO2, N2, and He, respectively. It is thus concluded that this excitation technique could be incorporated into the fabrication of large volume gas laser amplifiers having beam cross sections in excess of 10³cm²and total output-energy capabilities ofsim 10^{4}J.     

Mode-locked dual-polarization operation of a CO2laser

An electrooptic mode-locking technique for inducing simultaneous oscillation of spacially congruent, orthogonally polarized CO2laser modes is described. During mode-locked dual-polarization operation the frequency separation of the output components is determined by the magnitude of an intracavity birefringence. It can therefore be adjusted to any value consistent with the gain-profile width. The sensitivity of the technique is such that for intermode frequencies between 1 and 20 MHz, a3 times 10^{-4}radian intracavity phase modulation suffices to produce continuous, stable dual-polarization operation. Experimental results are given that indicate the dependence of the mode-locking phenomenon on modulator drive, intermode frequency, and laser cavity tuning. These results are compared with the prediction of simple theory.     

Gain characteristics of an atmospheric sealed CW CO2laser

Experimental and analytical investigations have been made on unsaturated gain g0of a CO2electric-discharge convection laser, in which discharge current flow, gas flow, and the optical axis are mutually perpendicular. Stable glow discharges in sealed gas mixtures of CO2, CO, N2, and He were maintained at pressures up to 780 torr with an input power density of about 90 W/cm³. The ratio of electric field to neutral particle densityE/Nwas1.7 times 10^{-16}V . cm²and was independent of the total gas pressureP. The electron density in a positive column of the glow discharge was about4 times 10^{10}cm^-3. Detailed spatial distributions of g0at a wavelength near 10.6 μm were measured in the pressure range from 100 to 780 torr. Measurements were also made on the current dependence of g0and on the change in gowith discharge time. The g0distributions along the gas flow direction were found to agree with those calculated from the electron density distribution and the relaxation rate constant of the upper laser level on the basis of continuity equations for a two-level model. The integrated value of g0along the flow direction was proportional to P^-0.8whenE/N, electron density, and gas temperature were held constant. A maximum value of the g0distribution, which was proportional to P^-0.3, was 0.14 percent/cm at 780 torr.     

Long-term operation of a sealed CO2laser

The life expectancy of a sealed CO2laser tube depends, to a great extent, on the interaction of the molecules existing in the discharge at the cathode. The data reported here indicates that after operation of a sealed laser, only CO and O2are formed in concentrations comparable to the initial fill gases of CO2, N2, and He. The CO, CO2, and O2, in particular, were found to be completely adsorbed at the Ni cathode within several hundred hours of tube operation. A loss of 10.6 μm power output accompanied this adsorption. As expected, the process was reversible to a degree since the laser resumed operation at the initial power level after the cathode region had been heated to 300°C. This process of adsorption-desorption was repeated several times up to an accumulated operating time of 705 hours. During this time, the power output remained at a substantially constant value. However, the loss of CO2by carbon deposits ultimately means an end to tube life.