THEORETICAL ANALYSIS OF 16-µm CO₂GASDYNAMIC LASER

Abstract
The possibility of obtaining high-power 16-µm radiation from a conventional CO₂ gasdynamic laser (GDL) has been evaluated theoretically by means of a modified Anderson's time-dependent method. In this simulation, the rate equations with the energy of the vibrational mode or the population of the each vibrational level are used. The analysis showed that the 16-µm pulse of 25µJ/pulse/cm³ extractable energy and 4.2 kW maximum power can be achieved on the P(15) line of the (0200)-(010) transition by injecting a fast 9.4-µm pulse at a position 15 cm downstream of the nozzle thro- at to populate the upper laser level. For a gas mixture of CO₂ : NO₂ : H₂ = 20 : 73 : 7 (%) and a nozzle area ratio of 100, the optimum reservoir temperature and pressure were calculated to be 1200 K and 15 atm, respectively. Because of its high repetition rate and high average-power capabilities, such a conventional GDL can easily provide the power levels required for industrial application of 16-µm laser radiation.