High-Pressure Pulsed CO2 Chemical Transfer Laser

The exothermic chain reactions between deuterium and fluorine have been used to produce intense laser emission from carbon dioxide in a high-pressure pulsed transfer laser. Stable mixtures of D2–F2–CO2 diluted in He and cooled to −60°C were used as a fuel. Reactions initiated by flash photolysis of this system produced 10.6-μm radiation with peak power of 200 kW and total energy of 5 J in dilute mixtures at total pressures up to 1 atm. The output power, laser pulse duration, and time of maximum gain are found to be strongly dependent on partial pressures of the constituents, total pressure of reactive components, nature of the diluents, and degree of refrigeration of the mixture.