The key results gathered in the COIL Laboratory of the Institute of Physics AS in the Czech Republic since 1985 to date on the experimental and theoretical investigation of Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL), and related problems are reviewed in a certain context of historical perspective of the COIL research and development.

The oxygen-iodine laser was the first electronic transition chemical laser. It first lased 25 years ago at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory (now the Air Force Research Laboratory). The development started several years earlier and involved the support of many people in the laser community.

In this paper, a history is presented of the development of diagnostic techniques for the chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL). Several established optically based techniques have been applied to COIL including: visible and near infrared chemiluminescence, resonance absorption and laser induced fluorescence. The history of these developments is traced using the diagnostic methods as the overall theme. In many cases a variant of an established diagnostic was used to probe for some key kinetic rate or mechanism. Indeed, the goal of developing the now well established COIL kinetic rate package was responsible for the introduction of new diagnostic methods.

Lasers with a gaseous active medium offer high flexibility, wide tunability, and advantages in cost, beam quality, and power scalability. Gas lasers have tended to become overshadowed by the recent popularity and proliferation of semiconductor lasers. As a result of this shift in focus, details on modern developments in gas lasers are difficult to find. In addition, different types of gas lasers have unique properties that are not well-described in other references. Collecting expert contributions from authorities dealing with specific types of lasers, Gas Lasers examines the fundamentals, current research, and applications of this important class of laser. It is important to understand all types of lasers, from solid-state to gaseous, before making a decision for any application. This book fills in the gaps by discussing the definition and properties of gaseous media along with its fluid dynamics, electric excitation circuits, and optical resonators. From this foundation, the discussion launches into the basic physics, characteristics, applications, and current research efforts for specific types of gas lasers: CO lasers, CO2 lasers, HF/DF lasers, excimer lasers, iodine lasers, and metal vapor lasers. The final chapter discusses miscellaneous lasers not covered in the previous chapters. Collecting hard-to-find material into a single, convenient source, Gas Lasers offers an encyclopedic survey that helps you approach new applications with a more complete inventory of laser options.