Time structure of iodine laser pulse in the free running mode of operation

Time structure of iodine laser pulse in the free running mode of operation was studied using the power amplifier of laser system PERUN as the laser oscillator. Two characteristic shapes of laser pulse correspond to different regimes of laser operation, the existence of which is ascribed to the critical concentration of I₂ molecules. Simultaneously an additional chemical pumping was proved at least in the initial phase of photodissociation and in a late-time lasing after the end of flashlamps pumping light.     

Analysis of 205-nm photolytic production of?atomic hydrogen in?methane flames

We investigate the 205-nm photolytic production of atomic hydrogen in methane flames. This process represents a significant interference in two-photon, laser induced-fluorescence (TP-LIF) detection of atomic hydrogen in flames. Relative TP-LIF profiles of the photolytically produced H atoms were measured using a pump-probe technique in atmospheric-pressure, premixed CH₄/O₂/N₂ flames. A high-fluence, non-resonant, nanosecond pump laser created H atoms by photodissociating flame constituents, and a copropagating, non-perturbing picosecond laser probed the photolytically produced Hatoms via TP-LIF. Spatial profiles of photolytically produced H atoms indicate that both intermediate and product species contribute to the interference in all flames. Excellent agreement between simulated and measured interference signals is observed in the product region of the flames. Vibrationally excited H₂O is the dominant source of interference in the product region, but an additional contribution is attributed to vibrationally excited OH radicals. In the flame-front region, CH₃ is the dominant precursor, and photodissociation of C₂H₂ becomes increasingly important in rich flames. Mechanisms for sequential photodissociation of CH₃ and C₂H₂ are presented, indicating that complete dissociation at 205 nm of both precursors is feasible.     

Chemical processes in active volume of photodissociative iodine laser

With the use of kinetic models for a photodissociation iodine laser the calculation of the effective rate constants for chemical reactions in a gaseous active mixture is carried out in the case of a strong influence of molecular collisions. The analysis uses a detailed reaction scheme and Lindemann's collisional mechanism. A list of measured values of rate constants for all reactions occuring in the photodissociation iodine laser active volume for the most important perfluorocarbon radials is attached.     

An excimer laser pumped atomic iodine laser emitting pulses in the range of 2–12 ns

An iodine photodissociation laser is pumped with a laser pulse from a XeCl or a KrF laser. Single smooth laser pulses with a duration variable from 2.6 to 12 ns are emitted by the iodine laser. A pulse power of 0.5 MW is obtained with diffraction limited beam divergence.     

Kinetics of the photodissociation iodine laser with slow pumping

Systematic calculations of maximum inversion were performed for iodine photodissociation laser in dependence on the mixture composition. The flash-lamp radiation was modelled as emanating from an optically thin Xe plasma. Duration of the pumping pulse is about 300 s. The sensitivity of the model to the values of kinetic constants was also tested.     

Reactions of excited I*(2P1/2) and unexcited I(2P3/2) iodine atoms in perfluoroalkyl radicals

A method of investigating reactions of excited and unexcited atoms is discussed. It is based on pulsed photolysis of molecules with simultaneous passage of laser radiation through the working medium. The method proposed is used to investigate the reactions that accompany the photolysis of the molecules RI(CF₃I, n-C₃F₇I, i-C₃F₇I). The rate constants of the recombination of iodine atoms into I₂ in the presence of RI molecules are calculated for the atoms I(²P_3/2) and I*(²P_1/2), as are the recombination constants of the radicals R into R₂ and with the atoms I*(²P_1/2) and I(²P_3/2) into the RI molecule. It is shown that the I(²P_3/2) atoms are much more active in the recombination into Ia and RI than the I*(²P_1/2) atoms. The role of the investigated reactions in the kinetics of a photodissociation iodine laser (PDIL) is discussed. The results are compared with the published data.     

Multiphoton ionization of iodine atoms and CF<Subscript> 3</Subscript>I molecules by XeCl laser radiation

We report about effective ionization of iodine atoms and CF₃I molecules under the action of intense XeCl laser radiation (308 nm). The only ion fragment resulting from the irradiation of the CF₃I molecules is the I⁺ ion. We have studied the influence of the intensity, spectral composition, and polarization of the laser radiation used on the intensity of the ion signal and the shape of its time-of-flight peak. Based on the analysis of the results obtained, we have suggested the mechanism of this effect. The conclusion drawn is that the ionization of the iodine atoms by the ordinary XeCl laser with a nonselective cavity results from a three- (2 + 1)-photon REMPI process. This process is in turn due to the presence of accidental two-photon resonances between various spectral components of the laser radiation and the corresponding intermediate excited states of the iodine atom. The probability of ionization of the atoms from their ground state I(²P_3/2) by the radiation of the ordinary XeCl laser is more than two orders of magnitude higher than the probability of their ionization from the metastable state I^*(²P_1/2). The ionization of the CF₃I molecules by the XeCl laser radiation occurs as a result of a four-photon process involving the preliminary one-photon dissociation of these molecules and the subsequent (2 + 1)-photon REMPI of the resultant neutral iodine atoms.     

Iodine photodissociation laser SOFIA with MOPO-HF as?a?solid-state oscillator

The hybrid iodine photodissociation laser SOFIA has been constructed. The pulse feeding the amplifier chain is the idler wave of an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) tuned to the atomic iodine transition at 1315 nm. This solid-state oscillator enables ps-synchronization to other laser systems. A homemade automatic stabilization of the OPO idler wave as to wavelength and pointing ensures long-term stable operation of the whole system. The active medium of the SOFIA amplifiers is a mixture of C₃F₇I and He. The SOFIA pulses are frequency-tripled in two KD*P crystals and then serve as the driver in a two-stage optical parametric amplification scheme in which chirped broadband Ti:sapphire laser pulses are amplified (OPCPA).     

Chemical oxygen-iodine laser with external production of iodine atoms in CH3I/Ar dc glow discharge

A cw chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) operating in a subsonic mode with a high water content of ～15% and external production of iodine atoms in CH₃I/Ar dc glow discharge has been demonstrated. A straightforward comparison of COIL performance for two cases—conventional, when I₂ was injected in the singlet oxygen flow, and when iodine atoms produced externally together with other discharge products were injected—was made. In the latter case nearly four times increase in output power was observed, suggesting that the relaxation of the energy stored in the singlet oxygen slowed down substantially, when the laser operated using CH₃I/Ar discharge products instead of iodine molecules.     

Possibility of separating the isotopes127I and129I with the aid of a photodissociation iodine laser

A method for separating iodine isotopes is proposed, based on the large difference between the rate constants of the excited I*(²P_1/2) and unaxclted iodine atoms with radicals CF₃ and with Cl₂ molecules, and on the possibility of selectively acting on the₁₂₇I atoms in the states²P_1/2 and²P_3/2 by radiation from a photodissociation R¹²⁷I iodine laser (λ = 1.315 μm). The possibility of separating the pure isotope¹²⁹I and the mixture¹²⁷I with¹²⁹I is investigated.     

Detection of trace nitric oxide concentrations using 1-D laser-induced fluorescence imaging

Spectrally resolved laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) with one-dimensional spatial imaging was investigated as a technique for detection of trace concentrations of nitric oxide (NO) in high-pressure flames. Experiments were performed in the burnt gases of premixed methane/argon/oxygen flames with seeded NO (15 to 50 ppm), pressures of 10 to 60 bar, and an equivalence ratio of 0.9. LIF signals were dispersed with a spectrometer and recorded on a 2-D intensified CCD array yielding both spectral resolution and 1-D spatial resolution. This method allows isolation of NO-LIF from interference signals due to alternative species (mainly hot O₂ and CO₂) while providing spatial resolution along the line of the excitation laser. A fast data analysis strategy was developed to enable pulse-by-pulse NO concentration measurements from these images. Statistical analyses as a function of laser energy of these single-shot data were used to determine the detection limits for NO concentration as well as the measurement precision. Extrapolating these results to pulse energies of ～?16 mJ/pulse yielded a predicted detection limit of ～?10 ppm for pressures up to 60 bar. Quantitative 1-D LIF measurements were performed in CH₄/air flames to validate capability for detection of nascent NO in flames at 10–60 bar.     

Flow measurements based on Rayleigh scattering and Fabry-Perot interferometer

Flow diagnostics based on molecular Rayleigh scattering are discussed along with the results of a feasibility study to non-intrusively measure flow properties in a small supersonic wind tunnel. The technique uses an injection seeded, frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser tuned to an absorption band of iodine. The molecular Rayleigh scattered light is filtered with an iodine cell to block light at the laser frequency. The Doppler-shifted Rayleigh scattered light that passes through the iodine cell is analyzed with a planar mirror Fabry-Perot interferometer used in a static imaging mode. An intensified CCD camera is used to record the images. The images are analyzed at several subregions, where the flow properties are determined. Each image is obtained with a single laser pulse, giving instantaneous measurements.     

Resonant radiationless excitation transfer to I2 molecules sorbed in pores of porous silicon

Resonant radiationless electronic excitation transfer to I₂ molecules sorbed in pores of porous silicon was observed. The mass-spectrometry technique was used to show that iodine excitation through the resonant transfer results in the desorption of sorbed I₂ molecules with relatively high kinetic energies (1?3 eV).     

Photodetector array for intracavity selection of laser radiation direction

A photodissociation iodine laser with an intracavity spatio-temporal light modulator controlled by an external photodetector array is studied experimentally. The feasibility of lasing in different directions determined by a light signal is demonstrated. The laser radiation energy is 11 J per pulse, and the duration and divergence of the pulse are 180 μs and 1.2 × 10⁻⁴ rad, respectively.     

Control of the Coulomb explosion of I<Subscript>2</Subscript>

We present calculated results for the optimization highly-charged fragment ion formation in the Coulomb explosion of I₂ in an intense laser field. Calculations are performed using a simple genetic algorithm and a classical model for the Coulomb explosion process. We find that at low intensity the production of highly-charged fragment ions is optimized by a Fourier-limited pulse, whereas at higher intensity the Coulomb explosion is optimized by a sequence of pulses, with a time-separation determined by enhanced ionization at the critical internuclear distance. Our calculations provide insight into the sensitivity of adaptive pulse shaping experiments to the parameters and evolutionary approaches used.Received: 6 January 2003, Published online: 15 July 2003PACS: 33.80.Rv Multiphoton ionization and excitation to highly excited states (e.g., Rydberg states) - 82.53.Eb Pump probe studies of photodissociation - 02.60.Pn Numerical optimization     

Femtosecond pulse parametric amplification at narrowband high power gas laser pumping

In ultrashort pulse amplification a narrowband gas pump pulse laser has been used for the first time. An all-stage optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) was driven by a single-shot iodine photodissociation laser. For the first time a broadband amplification was achieved in potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystal at 800 nm seeding. Ti:sapphire laser pulses stretched from 12.5 fs to 250 ps were amplified and compressed to 27 fs at a 0.5 TW output power. The results suggest using narrowband high power gas lasers as OPCPA drivers to generate petawatt beams.     

Numerical simulation of the mixing kinetics of an iodine-containing flow and the oxygen flow excited in the electric-discharge oxygen-iodine laser

A parametric analysis has been carried out to discover how the concentration of atomic oxygen in the O₂: O₂ (¹Δ_g): O flow and the degree of predissociation and concentration of molecular iodine in the I₂: He mixture affect the temperature regime and the formation of the inverse population at the atomic iodine laser transition at elevated pressures of P = 5–10 Torr in a simulated system with the axial injection of an I₂: He mixture in the EDSOG-excited oxygen flow.     

Simultaneous Raman/LIF measurements of major species and NO in turbulent H2/air diffusion flames

A single-pulse spontaneous Raman scattering apparatus, based on a flashlamp-pumped dye laser, was used to determine the concentrations of the major species and the temperature in turbulent H₂/N₂/air jet diffusion flames. The concentrations of nitric oxide were simultaneously measured by Laser-Induced Fluorescence (LIF) after excitation of theA ^{2 +}–X ² transition with a Nd: YAG-pumped dye laser. Some fundamentals of the employed methods, including the calibration procedure, quenching corrections, and accuracy are discussed. Besides a detailed study of the experimental technique, a main goal of the presented investigations was the generation of comprehensive data sets of high accuracy from well-defined turbulent flames which allow for a quantitative comparison with model calculations. Two flames with different fuel dilution and Reynolds numbers were investigated in a pattern of typically 100 measuring locations each comprising 300 single shots. In addition, four flames with different flow velocities but same fuel composition were compared with respect to their temperature and NO concentration profiles. The results show that differential diffusion plays an important role in these flames, especially near the flame base, where the temperature is increased above the adiabatic flame temperature and deviations from adiabatic equilibrium are large. The correlations between NO and mixture fraction and NO and temperature reveal characteristic features of the different flames.