DF–CO2 AND HF–CO2 CONTINUOUS-WAVE CHEMICAL LASERS

Abstract

Continuous‐wave chemical laser operation has been observed at 10.6 μ in CO₂ pumped by vibrational energy released from chemical reactions forming excited DF and HF molecules. A two‐step vibrational energy transfer mechanism is proposed to explain the pumping of CO₂ by chemically formed HF. The results suggest improved performance occurs when simple chain reactions are operative.