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

Abstract

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.