Assessment of Technology for a New High Power Photolytic Iodine Laser

A great need exists for a high brightness laser which is consistent, easy-to-use, and reliable for use in industrial, scientific, and military applications. A new enhanced photolytic iodine laser is proposed which is unique in it's simultaneously available attributes. Phase I will assess scalability of a new photolytic iodine laser to higher output power than previously achieved and address manufacturing issues. Suitability of current, near term, and future technology will be evaluated to determine refinements to designs, systems, and components needed to reach both commercial and military objectives. A design concept will address objectives including lower cost to fabricate, minimized service requirements, high reliability, and ease of use, which are critical to commercial market and military acceptance and actual usage of the technology. This new laser, once developed, will have a tightly focused high power beam for industrial applications enabling it to weld and cut faster and deeper, with more precision and drill finer, more precise holes than other comparable lasers. It will have excellant coherence and power, making it useful for scientific and military targeting and imaging applications. The impacts of special requirements of military imaging , scientific and tactical mission applications will also be evaluated.