EXPERIMENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF N2-CO2 LASERS,
Abstract
Recent techniques investigated in the Army Missile Command's N2-He-CO2 laser program have produced several lasers with output powers in excess of 100 W/m and efficiencies greater than 25 percent. Scaling laws, various discharge configurations, gas mixtures, optical components, and spectra of the output radiation and of the discharges were studied in attempts to determine the optimum operating characteristics and to produce a better understanding of the mechanisms which make these molecular lasers so efficient. This information was used to design and construct an N2-He-CO2 laser, 180 ft long, which operates in the multikilowatt range with efficiencies and powers per unit length comparable to the smaller lasers of similar construction. This laser was constructed in modular form, each module being approximately 10 ft long. The design and operating characteristics of these lasers are discussed, and the performance data obtained as a function of length each time a module was added are presented. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1967
- Accession Number
- AD0659767
Entities
People
- G. J. Hutcheson
- I. J. Ehrlich
- T. G. Roberts
- W. L. Hales
Organizations
- United States Army Aviation and Missile Command