Bibliography of short wavelength chemical laser research
Abstract
High power short wavelength chemical laser (SWCL) systems offer great advantages for strategic and tactical military applications, including both weapons and imaging missions. The promise of very high brightness, high mass efficiency, and wavelength agility has justified a modest basic research program for more than a decade. Significant progress towards the demonstration of a visible chemical laser has been made during the past few years. Highly efficient methods of chemically producing metastable electronic states at concentrations exceeding 3 x 10(exp 16) molecules/cu cm have been developed. Energy transfer from these metastables to suitable lasant species has been used to demonstrate gain in the visible. Chemically generated gain of 0.029 %/cm on the (A-X) electronic transition in bismuth fluoride has been demonstrated using pulsed thermolysis of fluorine azide and trimethyl bismuth mixtures. Recently, a table-top shock facility has been used to achieve unsaturated lasing in the same system. During the past ten years, over 400 articles and reports have resulted from this research program. This bibliography summarizes this Department of Defense sponsored research on short wavelength chemical lasers since 1980.
- Publication:
-
Technical Report Air Force Inst. of Tech
- Pub Date:
- May 1993
- Bibcode:
- 1993pafb.rept.....P
- Keywords:
-
- Bibliographies;
- Chemical Lasers;
- Electron States;
- Energy Transfer;
- Nitrogen Lasers;
- Azides (Inorganic);
- Bismuth;
- Electron Transitions;
- Fluorides;
- Laser Outputs;
- Laser Weapons;
- Metastable State;
- Military Technology;
- Nitrogen Fluorides;
- Lasers and Masers