An intra-cavity device with a discharge-drived CW DF chemical laser

Abstract

The performance parameters of reflecting mirrors such as absorption coefficient or thermal distortion determine the beam quality of the output laser, so the quality of mirrors is one of the most important factors affecting the capability of the whole laser system. At the present time, there was obviously insufficient in test methods for the mirrors performance. The reflection coefficient, absorption coefficient and scattering coefficient of mirrors could be measured by a lot of test methods such as cavity ring-down method, photothermal deflection method, surface thermal lens method and laser calorimetry. But these methods could not test under high power density radiation. So the test data and results could not indicate the real performance in a real laser system exactly. Testing in a real laser system would be expensive and time consuming. Therefore, the test sequence and data would not be sufficient to analyze and realize the performance of mirrors. To examine the performance of mirrors under high power density radiation, the working principle of intra-cavity was introduced in this paper. Utilizing an output mirror with a low output coupling ratio, an intra-cavity could produce high-power density laser in the resonant cavity on the basis of a relatively small scale of gain medium, and the consumption and cost were very low relatively. Based on a discharge-drived CW DF chemical laser, an intra-cavity device was established. A laser beam of 3kw/cm² was achieved in the resonant cavity. Two pieces of 22.5 degree mirrors and two pieces of 45 degree mirrors could be tested simultaneously. Absorption coefficient and thermal distortion were measured by calorimetry and Hartmann wavefront sensor respectively. This device was simple, convenient, low-maintenance, and could work for a long time. The test results would provide support for process improvement of mirrors.