High efficiency, pulsed HF chemical laser using a mixture of H 2 and F 2 initiated by an intense electron beam

Abstract

The stable gas mixing of H 2 and F 2 by adding a trace of O 2 at room temperature has been achieved. The electron beam (1 MeV, 20 kA, 70 nsec) initiated the HF pumping reactions by the dissociation of F 2 and/or H 2. The HF lasing has been obtained at a mixing ratio of [F 2]/[O 2]/[F 2]=1/0.3/0.3 and at total pressures up to 800 Torr. A typical HF laser energy was 180 J/pulse at an intrinsic laser efficiency as high as 200% and at a chemical efficiency (defined by the ratio of the HF laser energy to the total exothermicity of the pumping reactions between H 2 and F 2 as high as 8%. The theoretical results of the detailed HF laser computer code involving dissociation reactions, pumping reactions, deactivation reaction and lasing reactions coincided with the experimental results.