High-efficiency chemical oxygen–iodine laser using a streamwise vortex generator

Abstract

A supersonic expansion nozzle has allowed us to achieve highly efficient operation of the supersonic mixing chemical oxygen–iodine laser (COIL). The nozzle’s shape produced a rapid mixing of the primary and secondary flows. Made up of a series of thin alternating wedges placed adjacent to each other, the nozzle looks like the letter X when it is viewed from the side. Iodine is injected at the exit plane of the nozzle and is strongly entrained by the streamwise vortices generated by the nozzle. 599 W of output power with a chemical efficiency of 32.9% is obtained, values higher by a factor of 1.4 than those of the conventional COIL.