Passively cooled glass CO2 laser tubes for severe environments
Abstract
The objective of this effort was to design a glass CO2 laser tube that could survive the Titan 3 C launch environment and at the same time provide adequate thermal conductivity to maintain the wall of the laser tube below approximately equal to 50 C for efficient lasing. The approach that was taken to satisfy these requirements was to pot the tube in an aluminum heat sink using a space qualified polyurethane potting material. Two configurations of the laser tube successfully passed the complete Titan 3 C qualification level sine and random vibration specification and satisfied the thermal requirements. Fabrication details and test results are presented that indicate this could be a practical solution for laser tubes used in a severe environment and where flowing coolants are impractical or undesirable.
- Publication:
-
NASA STI/Recon Technical Report N
- Pub Date:
- December 1974
- Bibcode:
- 1974STIN...7517654W
- Keywords:
-
- Carbon Dioxide Lasers;
- Cooling;
- Glassware;
- Laser Outputs;
- Aluminum;
- Heat Sinks;
- Polyurethane Resins;
- Potting Compounds;
- Titan 3 Launch Vehicle;
- Lasers and Masers