COMPACT AND FIELD-WORTHY ULTRAVIOLET LASER

IN PHASE I WE PROPOSE TO DESIGN, DEVELOP AND DELIVER TO THE BALLISTIC RESEARCH LABORTORY OF THE ARMY A COMPACT, LIGHT-WEIGHT LASER CAPABLE OF OPERATING AT XECL, XEF, KRF, KRCL AND ARF WAVELENGTHS WITH A SIMPLE CHANGE IN GAS FILL AND WITHOUT THE NEED FOR PASSIVATION. IT WILL MEET THE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS OF 25 MJ AND ARF AND OPERATIONS AT 100 HZ PULSE REPETITION FREQUENCY WITH STABLE RESONATOR OPTICS. CARE WILL BE PLACED ON MATERIALS COMPATIBILITY TO INSURE LONG GAS FILL LIFETIMES. THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEAR DIFFRACTION LIMITED BEAM OPTICS, GAS AND PARTICULATE CLEAN-UP SYSTEMS AS WELL AS PARTICULATE DEFLECTION SYSTEMS WILL BE LEFT TO PHASE II OF THIS DEVELOPMENT. DEPENDABILITY STUDIES OF THE LASER TO MAKE THE DEVICE TRULY FIELD-WORTHY WILL ALSO TAKE PLACE IN PHASE II.