Characteristics of a cw chemical HF laser operating by using a new oxidising-gas production technique

The energy and spectral characteristics of an HF laser operating by using a new method of obtaining the oxidising gas based on a two-region mixing are studied experimentally. The investigation involved redistribution of the overall amount of the rare-gas diluent (helium) delivered to the laser between the gas generator (the first mixing region) and the subsonic parts of the nozzles of the nozzle unit (the second mixing region). In this case, the temperature in the gas generator was maintained constant and the experiments were conducted under conditions when either the mass flow of atomic fluorine or the pressure in the gas generator were maintained constant. It was shown that upon a nearly full transfer of helium from the first mixing region to the second one in the constant-pressure regime in the gas generator, the laser output power increased by 70%, while in the regime of a constant mass flow of atomic fluorine, the output power increased by 14% along with a simultaneous increase in the specific energy extraction by 40%. The lasing region was found to lengthen by no less than 35%.