WAVEGUIDE CO(2) LASERS HAVE FOUND MANY TACTICAL DOD APPLICATIONS RECENTLY.

WAVEGUIDE CO(2) LASERS HAVE FOUND MANY TACTICAL DOD APPLICATIONS RECENTLY. THE OUTPUT POWER OF A SINGLE WAVEGUIDE CO(2) LASER IS LIMITED TO ABOUT 40 W C.W. DUE TO GAIN SATURATION AND WAVEFRONT ABERRATIONS. IN THE SAME SIZE PACKAGE AN ARRAY OF WAVEGUIDES COULD BE EXCITED POTENTIALLY PRODUCING AN M X N INCREASE IN THE TOTAL OUTPUT POWER AND, IF THEY WERE PHASE-LOCKED, POTENTIALLY ALMOST AN (MXN)2 INCREASE THE PEAK OF THE FAR-FIELD IRRADIANCE DISTRIBUTION. WJSA HAS FABRICATED 1X7 AND 2X3 ARRAY DEVICES USING DC LONGITUDINAL EXCITATION. IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE PHASE-LOCKING BETWEEN ADJACENT LASERS, A TRANSPARENT WINDOW OF ZNSE SEPARATES THE WAVEGUIDES. BECAUSE THESE WINDOWS ARE OPTICALLY FLAT, THEY ARE FABRICATED IN SMALL SIZES THUS LEAVING TINY GAPS BETWEEN WAVEGUIDES. THIS RESULTS IN CONSIDERABLE DISCHARGE CROSS TALK AND CONSIDERABLY REDUCED LASER POWER WITH PLASMA OSCILLATIONS. WJSA PROPOSES TO CONVERT THESE EXISTING WAVEGUIDE LASER ARRAYS TO TRANSVERSE RF EXCITATION USING AN EXISTING RF SUPPLY. TRANSVERSE RF EXCITATION WILL ALLOW OPTIMUM GAS POWER LOADING OVER THE ENTIRE WAVEGUIDE LENGTH AND CONSIDERABLY REDUCE THE WAVEGUIDE DISCHARGE CROSSTALK. THE OUTPUT POWERS OF THE INDIVIDUAL WAVEGUIDES SHOULD REMAIN STEADY INSTEAD OF OSCILLATING WILDLY OR EXTINGUISHING WHEN MORE THAN ONE DISCHARGE IS RUN. THE OUTPUT POWER UNIFORMITY OF BOTH ARRAYS WILL BE MEASURED AND THE FARFIELD PATTERNS WILL BE EXAMINED FOR PHASE-LOCKING AND ARRAY MODE FORMATION.