Development and application of a high power ND-glass laser instrument

Research on the interaction between an incident laser beam and a flowing gas is described. The results include a discussion of the development and evaluation of a high power short wavelength source for experimental investigation of these interactions, as well as summary of work on theoretical analysis of the interaction. The source uses an Nd-Yag oscillator followed by two high-gain amplifier stages to provide requisite power levels. At present, testing has been done with only the oscillator and the first-stage amplifier in place. Energy delivery for the first half of an anticipated ten millisecond duty cycle is closely in line with predictions and overall system performance looks promising. The analytical results describe initial results of the first detailed investigation of the stability characteristics of the interaction, as well as the first ever two-dimensional flowfield solutions for this problem.