Chemical hydrogen fluoride laser on a thermal chain explosion initiated by resonance IR radiation

Abstract

Characteristics of a chemical H2—F2 laser initiated by resonant vibrational excitation of HF molecules upon the development of a thermal chain branching reaction are theoretically studied. After the addition of N2F2 or F2SO3 molecules with partial pressure of 20 Torr to the HF: H2: F2: O2: He = 0.5: 76: 228: 23: 100-Torr mixture, a specific output energy of a hydrogen fluoride laser initiated by a 2-μs pulse from an H2—F2 laser with the energy density of 0.01–10 J cm-2 amounted to 30–60 J litre-1, exceeding the specific initiation energy by a factor of 100 —4000.