Kinetics of an oxygen-iodine active medium with iodine atoms optically pumped on the 2P1/2–2P3/2 transition

The kinetics of the processes occurring in an O₂–I₂–He–H₂O gas flow in which photodissociation of molecular iodine at a wavelength close to 500 nm and excitation of atomic iodine on the ²P_1/2–²P_3/2 transition by narrow-band radiation near 1315 nm are implemented successively has been analysed. It is shown that implementation of these processes allows one to form an oxygen-iodine medium with a high degree of dissociation of molecular iodine and a relative content of singlet oxygen O₂(a¹Δ) exceeding 10%. Having formed a supersonic gas flow with a temperature ≈100 K from this medium, one can reach a small-signal gain of about 10^-2 cm^-1 on the ²P_1/2–²P_3/2 transition in iodine atoms. The specific power per unit flow cross section in the oxygen-iodine laser with this active medium may reach ≈100 W cm^-2.