Efficient discharge pumping XeCl laser

Pulsed oscillation from XeCl at λ = 3080 Å has been obtained by exciting a mixture of He:Xe:BCl₃ at pressures of 1 to 7 atm with a transverse discharge. The laser efficiency relative to the discharge absorbed energy exceeds 1%. The role of dissociation recombination in the processes of excitation of XeCl¹ is discussed.     

Mid-infrared polarization spectroscopy of C2H2: Non-intrusive spatial-resolved measurements of polyatomic hydrocarbon molecules for combustion diagnostics

Polarization spectroscopy in the mid-infrared (IRPS) has been applied to the detection of acetylene molecules making use of the asymmetric C-H stretching vibration at around 3 μm. The infrared laser pulses were produced through difference frequency generation in a LiNbO₃ crystal pumped by a Nd:YAG and dye laser system. By directly probing the ro-vibrational transitions with IRPS, sensitive detection of molecules with otherwise inaccessible electronic states was realized with high temporal and spatial resolution by using a pulsed laser and a cross-beam geometry. Detection sensitivities of 2 × 10¹³ molecules/cm³ (10 ppm in 70 mbar gas mixture) of C₂H₂ were achieved using the P(1 1) line of the (0 1 0(1 1)⁰)-(0 0 0 0⁰ 0⁰) band. The dependence of the IRPS signal on the pump laser fluence, acetylene mole fraction, and buffer gas pressure of Ar, N₂, H₂, and CO₂ has been studied experimentally. The investigation demonstrates the quantitative nature of IRPS for sensitive detection of polyatomic IR active molecules. In order to fully demonstrate the technique for combustion applications, nascent acetylene molecules were measured in a low pressure methane/oxygen flame.     

Detection of C2H2 and HCl using mid-infrared degenerate four-wave mixing with stable beam alignment: towards practical in situ sensing of trace molecular species

A stable and convenient optical system to realize the forward phase-matching geometry for degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) is demonstrated in the mid-infrared spectral region by measuring DFWM signals generated in acetylene (C₂H₂) and hydrogen chloride (HCl) molecules by probing the fundamental ro-vibrational transitions. IR laser pulses tunable from 2900 cm^?1 to 3350 cm^?1 with a 0.025 cm^?1 linewidth were obtained using a laser system composed of an injection seeded Nd:YAG laser, a dye laser, and a frequency mixing unit. At room temperature and atmospheric pressure, a detection limit of 35 ppm (～ 9.5×10¹⁴ molecules/cm³) for C₂H₂ was achieved in a gas flow of a C₂H₂/N₂ mixture by scanning the P(11) line of the (010(11)⁰)–(0000⁰0⁰) band. The detection limit of the HCl molecule was measured to be 25 ppm (～6.8×10¹⁴ molecules/cm³) in the same environment by probing the R(4) line. The dependences of signal intensities on molecular concentrations and laser pulse energies were demonstrated using C₂H₂ as the target species. The variations of the signal line shapes with changes in the buffer gas pressures and laser intensities were recorded and analyzed. The experimental setup demonstrated in this work facilitates the practical implementation of in situ, sensitive molecular species sensing with species-specific, spatial and temporal resolution in the spectral region of 2.7–3.3 μm (3000–3700 in cm^?1), where various molecular species important in combustion have absorption bands.     

XeCl laser ablation of polyetheretherketone

Ablation of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), a high temperature thermoplastic, by XeCl laser radiation occurs at fluences in excess of 0.07±0.01 J cm^–2. The volatile products of ablation are CO and C₂H₂ with smaller quantities of CH₄, C₄H₂, C₆H₆ and other C₃ and C₄ hydrocarbons. At fluences close to the threshold ablation produces involatile material of relatively high molecular weight but at high fluences extensive disruption of the PEEK structure occurs with conversion of all of the oxygen in the polymer to carbon monoxide.     

Performance study of the KrCl discharge laser with liquid chlorine donors

The effects of liquid chlorine donors (BCl₃ and CCl₄) on the output energy and the efficiency of a KrCl laser (222 nm) are investigated. Maximum laser energies of 230 mJ (3.3 J/l) in pulses of 16 ns duration were obtained from a 0.035% BCl₃/10.1% Kr/89.8% Ne mixture at a total pressure of 2600 Torr, and at a specific power loading of about 24 MW/cm³, a power conversion efficiency of 0.86% was obtained. These figures are reduced by a factor of two when He is used as buffer gas. Much weaker laser emissions were obtained when CCl₄ was used as a chlorine donor.     

Laser ablation parameters of atherosclerotic arteries

Summary The threshold of atherosclerotic plaque ablation in water by the XeCl laser radiation was measured to be of (1.5±0.2) J/cm². Within the simple thermal model this value corresponds to the mean temperature of about 373 K in the irradiated volume as for other angioplasty lasers. Time-of-flight probing of ablation in air by the XeCl and CO₂ lasers revealed microsecond lifetimes of ablated volumes that confirm the mechanism of explosive boiling of superheated tissue water. So the local temperature must be about 582 K which can be due to inhomogeneous light distribution and absorption. The short lifetime leads to the absence of heat diffusion and, hence, to the ablative character of tissue destruction.     

Numerical solution of Boltzmann tranport equation for TEA CO2 laser having nitrogen-lean gas mixtures to predict laser characteristics and gas lifetime

Selective laser isotope separation by TEA CO₂ laser often needs short tail-free pulses. Using laser mixtures having very little nitrogen almost tail free laser pulses can be generated. The laser pulse characteristics and its gas lifetime is an important issue for long-term laser operation. Boltzmann transport equation is therefore solved numerically for TEA CO₂ laser gas mixtures having very little nitrogen to predict electron energy distribution function (EEDF). The distribution function is used to calculate various excitation and dissociation rate of CO₂ to predict laser pulse characteristics and laser gas lifetime, respectively.Laser rate equations have been solved with the calculated excitation rates for numerically evaluated discharge current and voltage profiles to calculate laser pulse shape. The calculated laser pulse shape and duration are in good agreement with the measured laser characteristics. The gas lifetime is estimated by integrating the equation governing the dissociation of CO₂. An experimental study of gas lifetime was carried out using quadrapole mass analyzer for such mixtures to estimate the O₂ being produced due to dissociation of CO₂ in the pulse discharge. The theoretically calculated O₂ concentration in the laser gas mixture matches with experimentally observed value. In the present TEA CO₂ laser system, for stable discharge the O₂ concentration should be below 0.2%.     

电激励脉冲HF激光SF_6/C_2H_6工作气体的放电特性

研究了电激励脉冲HF激光工作介质SF6/C2H6混合气体的放电特性。通过对放电等离子体荧光图像和放电波形的测量,分析比较了不同条件下放电稳定性、剩余电压、能量沉积效率等特性参数的变化情况。实验结果表明:混合气体的放电过程存在主放电、剩余电压维持和电弧放电3个阶段,各阶段的放电特性有所差异;提高充电电压有利于放电能量的有效沉积,也会使不稳定的电弧放电提前;增加C2H6原子分数能起到抑制电弧放电的作用;混合气体总压的增加会导致剩余电压的提高以及辉光放电的能量沉积效率的降低;最佳的能量沉积出现在电弧放电阶段与辉光放电阶段即将融合的临界状态。     

Electrical characteristics of a small active volume (1 cm3) discharge-pumped XeCl laser

Through the use of a PFL (pulse-forming line) of conveniently changeable output impedance Z_O, the electrical characteristics of a small volume-discharge of standard XeCl laser gas mix was studied. The impedance Z_D from a 2×0.5×1(=1) cm³ discharge was found to be about 10. A PFL of very low impedance is therefore rather inefficient in driving the discharge, because of the impedance mismatch and the slower current rise time. The data presented will be useful for the design of excimer lasers of small discharge volume, which find applications in serving as master oscillator or in high repetition rate operation.     

Gain and absorption of an X-ray pre-ionized XeCl discharge laser at high gas pressures

An experimental study was undertaken to investigate the characteristics of XeCl discharge lasers at high gas pressures ( 15 atm). From a comparison of the fluorescence measurements with the net small signal gain coefficients, it was concluded that absorption is the main cause of the catastrophic drop in laser output power in higher pressures. Accounting for such molecular absorbers as Xe⁺ ₂, Xe^* ₂, and Xe₂Cl^*, the absorption coefficient,K, was calculated using a simple steady-state analysis and the net gain coefficients deduced from the calculated absorptions came to within an order of magnitude of the measured values.     

Lifetime measurement of the (5d6p)3D3 state of barium by dye-laser spectroscopy

We have measured the radiative lifetime of the (5d6p)³D₃ state of barium by Hanle effect. This state was populated by cw dye laser excitation of an atomic beam of Ba in the metastable (5d6s)³D₃ state. The metastable state was populated by a dc discharge. With dye laser excitation, the shape of the Hanle effect curve is strongly modified due to optical pumping of the metastable state. A brief discussion of the expected and observed signal shapes is given. The radiative lifetime of the (5d6p)³D₃ state is measured to be τ = 10.2 ± 1.5 ns.     

Improved conversion efficiency of XeCl radiation to the first stokes at high pump energy

An XeCl laser beam has been used to investigate stimulated Raman scattering in H₂ and in various H₂-foreign gas mixtures. Helium, neon, argon, and nitrogen have been tested as foreign gases. In all the investigated mixtures with 50% of H₂, the energy conversion efficiency to the first Stokes (353 nm) was more than 70% higher than that obtained in H₂ at the same total pressure (40 bar) and pump energy (60 mJ). The dependence of the energy conversion efficiency on pump beam divergence has also been investigated.     

XeCl-laser-generated ablation products from a nitrogen-rich polymer studied by laser-ionization mass spectrometry

Laser-ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry has been used to probe laser-ablation products from a nitrogen-rich polymer at a wavelength of 308 nm. The ablation products at a laser fluence of 150 mJ/cm² showed, similar to 532 nm ablation studied previously [18], two strong peaks due to neutral species that were assigned to C⁺ and CN⁺, as well as several weak peaks that were assigned to CH⁺, HCN⁺, HCNH⁺, H_nN–CN⁺ (n=1–3), and H₂N–C=N–CN⁺ or H₂N–C=N–CN⁺. The ablation products at 870 mJ/cm² revealed, in addition to a broad signal due to ionic products generated directly by the ablation laser, several peaks due to neutral products that were assigned to C⁺, C ₂ ⁺ , C ₃ ⁺ , CN⁺, HCN⁺, HCNH⁺, and NCCN⁺. The most probable flight velocities for major neutral products are 5.7×10⁴ cm/s at 150 mJ/cm² and 2.3–2.7×10⁴ cm/s at 870 mJ/cm². The results at a laser fluence of 150 mJ/cm² support the finding that the translational energy of the tragments has importance for the collision-induced product generation in the laser plume, as suggested earlier [18]. Furthermore, the product generation at 870 mJ/cm² is interpreted by the ejection of small neutral and ionic fragments, and subsequent reactions among the fragments.     

A double-beam UV-laser differential absorption method for monitoring tropospheric trace gases

A method is described which uses the differential absorption of a narrow-band tunable ultra-violet laser for integrated measurements of tropospheric trace gas concentrations over a path length of 12.8 km, at near ground level. A XeCl excimer laser serves as a reference beam to compensate for turbulence-induced intensity losses. After suitable statistical averaging the method is capable of detecting differential absorptions as low as 10^-4, enabling the simultaneous detection of SO₂, CH₂O and of OH radicals around 308 nm.     

Dynamics and correlated performance of a photo-triggered discharge-pumped HF laser using SF6 with hydrogen or ethane

3 , has been performed in Ne/SF₆/H₂ and Ne/SF₆/C₂H₆ mixtures. Parameters involved have been the storage line capacitance and the circuit inductance, the capacitors charging voltage, the RH-molecule type and partial pressure, and the X-ray dose for the preionization. High laser performance has been achieved with C₂H₆: an output energy up to 3 J corresponding to a specific energy of 9.6 J/l at an efficiency of 4.7%, which strengthens the advantage of the photo-triggering technique to energize high-power HF lasers. However the optimum performance achieved with H₂, 5.75 J/l and 3.5%, are lower. It is shown, through a time-resolved study of the electrical discharge and spatial dynamics correlated to laser power and energy measurements, that discharge instabilities are responsible for the poor laser performance of the mixture with H₂. These instabilities, which lead to arc development, are characteristics of the discharge in Ne/SF₆. It is demonstrated for the first time that addition of a heavy hydrocarbon, such as C₂H₆, to that mixture induces the discharge stabilization so that the laser emission arises in a homogeneous active medium. This effect allows us to achieve better laser performance than with H₂. Received: 17 March 1998/Revised version: 13 July 1998     

Quasi-simultaneous ultraviolet and infrared emission from a plasma cathode TEA laser

Quasi-simultaneous laser action in the UV (0.337 μm) and the IR (10.6 μm) was observed from a pulsed laser with a sliding discharge plasma cathode. The laser operates at atmospheric pressure, with a gas mixture of CO₂/N₂/He, at a 0.26/0.50/4.0 lmin⁻¹ flow rate. Output energies of 30 mJ in the IR and 0.35 mJ in the UV were obtained, from a laser discharge volume of 38.0×1.0×2.8 cm³. The optimum gas mixtures have been determined and the temporal behavior of the discharge parameters, the performance characteristics of the laser and the beam spatial distributions were investigated.     

Subnormal glow discharge in a Xe/Cl2 mixture in a narrow discharge tube

Electrical and optical characteristics of a subnormal glow discharge in a short (L=10 cm) discharge tube with an inner diameter of 5 mm are investigated. The dependences of the discharge current-voltage characteristic, the energy deposition in the discharge, the plasma spectral characteristics in the 130-to 350-nm wavelength range, the emission intensities of the XeCl(D-X) 236-nm and XeCl(B-X) 308-nm bands, and the total emission intensity in the range 180–340 nm on the pressure and composition of the Xe/Cl₂ mixture are studied. Two modes of glow discharge are shown to exist: the low-current mode at a discharge current of I _ch ≤2 mA and the high-current mode at I _ch >2 mA. The transition from one mode to another occurs in a stepwise manner. The increase in the chlorine content causes the discharge voltage and the energy deposition in the plasma to increase. At low pressures of the Xe/Cl₂ mixture (P≤0.7 kPa), stationary strata form in the cathode region. The lower the discharge current, the greater the volume occupied by the strata. This longitudinal discharge acts as a powerful source of continuous broadband emission in the range 180–340 nm, which forms due to overlapping the XeCl(D, B-X) and Cl ₂ ^* bands with edges at λ=236, 308, and 258 nm. The intensity of the 236-nm band is at most 20% of the total intensity of UV radiation. The maximum power of UV radiation (3 W at an efficiency of 8%) is attained at a xenon partial pressure of 250–320 Pa and a total pressure of the mixture of 2 kPa.     

Optoacoustic laser spectroscopy of excited vibrational molecular states

A new detection method for absorption from excited vibrational states is suggested, based on optoacoustic detection of weak absorption in a heated gas. Using this method CO₂ laser radiation (λ=9.6 μm) absorption was investigated from excited vibrational states of CO₂, BCl₃, and BF₃ molecules.     

Laser dye stability,part 12. The pyridinium salts

Improved laser output is demonstrated in KrF and XeCl lasers with x-ray preionization. The influence of gas composition, preionization geometry, x-ray dose,E/p value and temporal delay between x-ray pulse and laser discharge is discussed. In XeCl lasing has been achieved with an x-ray dose of 0.2 mR whereas approx. 3 mR are required for KrF. For both systems, the highest output energy and the lowest possibleE/p ratio were observed with Ne buffered gas mixtures. Dissociative attachment to halogen molecules on a ns time scale supported by a relatively slow laser voltage rise is recognized as the main electron loss channel preventing a long lifetime of the preionization electrons. High preionization intensity is thus desirable at the moment of voltage breakdown.     

Scaling and performance of CO2 lasers at supra-atmospheric pressure

The performance of a compact uv photo-preionized TE laser is studied in the pressure range 1–5 bar. As the pressure is increased, the laser pulse shape is little altered, but both the peak power and the total output pulse energy increase significantly with pressure, even for constant input electrical energy. For various gas mixtures and excitation source capacitors the measurements suggest approximate output energy scaling with the product of the source charge per unit electrode area [C.m^–2] and the molecular partial pressure [CO₂+N₂+CO]. This is explained in terms of the pressure-dependent discharge impedance. An input-energy-related discharge instability limits the optimum laser pressure to 1.5–2.5 bar, and we show that, at constant input energy, the instability boundary depends on the molecular partial pressure alone. The pre-ionization photo-electron yield varies negligibly with pressure, but the discharge tolerance to added oxygen decreases asp ^–3 top ^–4, dependent on gas mixture. Nevertheless sealed operation for >10⁵ shots has been obtained with a 5% CO₂5% CO3% N₂2% H₂85% He gas mixture at a total pressure of 5 bar.