Some scaling considerations for pulsed chemical lasers

A simple model is developed to describe and optimize the performance of pulsed DF and CO2 transfer lasers. The approach, which is also applicable to HF lasers, involves modeling of the vibrational energy storage by noting that the excited DF is produced by both hot and cold reactions and is lost by a variety of V-T and V-V reactions. The results include definitions of chain reaction rates, vibrational relaxation, vibrational exchange rates, dissociation rates, and evaluation of chemical laser performance based on available sources.