Advanced Chemical Iodine Lasers

In this Phase I proposal Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) describes a program to develop and demonstrate a diagnostic for imaging atomic iodine peak absorption/gain and translational temperature for chemically pumped atomic iodine lasers. This diagnostic willprovide a unique, sensitive tool for developing advanced iodine lasers. This diagnostic will provide the first multi-point spatially resolved gain and temperature maps that can be directly compared to advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD)calculations. The imaging sensor is based upon PSI's successful IodineScan tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) diagnostic that has been applied to COIL systems worldwide. During Phase I PSI will demonstrate this new gain imagingcapability by making measurements in PSI's discharge flow reactor facility. In the Phase II program PSI will develop a compact, portable system that will be tested at COIL facilities and then delivered to the Air Force Research Laboratory. Later versionsof this system developed in Phase II and III programs could readily be extended to HF overtone lasers and non-chemical laser industrial applications. Successful Phase I and Phase II programs will lead to the development of a new class of imaging TDLASsensors. These sensors will have direct application to Air Force chemical laser development programs (COIL and AGIL) and the ABL and SBL programs. Potential industrial applications include the petrochemical, fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries aswell as atmospheric monitoring, natural gas pipeline monitoring and academic research.