Zero-power-gain measurements in CW HF(DF) laser by means of a fast scan technique

Abstract

An improved technique for measuring zero power gain in a CW HF-DF chemical laser has been developed in which a CW HF(DF) single-line, frequency-stabilized TEM <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">00</inf> mode probe laser is used. Through use of a flat rotating mirror and focusing elements, the streamwise distribution of zero-power gain was scanned at a rate of ∼1 mm/μs with a spatial resolution of ∼1 mm. The zero-power-gain profile was observed for two arc-driven chemical-laser nozzles with both HF and DF active species. The nozzles consisted of a 36-slit array with perforated tube H <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> injectors and a 55-slit array with uniform H <inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> injection. Results are presented for the variation of zero power gain with axial distance, the magnitude and location of peak gain, and the gain cutoff location for a number of transitions. Peak gain values of 15 percent/cm and 5.5 percent/cm were measured with HF and DF active species, respectively, with the 55-slit nozzle array.