Great success has been obtained in the R & D of a chemical oxygen-iodine laser (COIL) operating on the electronic transition of the iodine atom, which gets an excitation from the energy donor - singlet delta oxygen (SDO). The latter is normally produced in a chemical SDO generator using very toxic and dangerous chemicals, which puts a limit for civilian applications of COIL that is still a very unique apparatus. Totally new non-chemical SDO generator is needed to allow oxygen-iodine laser to achieve its full potential as a non-hazardous efficient source of high-power laser radiation. There was interest in producing SDO in electric discharge plasma since the 50's long before COIL appearing. The idea of using SDO as a donor for iodine laser was formulated in the 70's. However, the injection of iodine molecules into a low-pressure self-sustained discharge did not result in iodine lasing. One of the main factors that could prevent from lasing in many experiments is a rather high threshold yield 15% at 300 K, which is needed for obtaining an inversion population. An analysis of different attempts of producing SDO in different kinds of electric discharge plasma has been done which demonstrates that high yield at gas pressure of practical interest (p> 10 Torr) for modem COIL technology can be obtained only in non-self sustained electric discharge plasma. The reason is that the value of relatively low reduced electrical field strength E/N ^ 10(exp -16) V. sq cm, which is an order of magnitude less than that for the self-sustained discharge, is extremely important for the efficient SDO production. Although different kinds of non-self sustained discharges can be used for SDO production, we got started experiments with e-beam sustained discharge in gas mixtures containing oxygen. High specific input energy up to 3 - 5 kJ/I. atm O2 has been experimentally obtained.

It has been long recognized that continuous-wave (CW) chemical lasers represent an extremely complex interaction between fluid mechanics, chemical kinetics, and optical physics. The chemical oxygen-iodine laser presents additional problems in that the energy storage medium, singlet oxygen, is generated by a liquid-gas phase reaction. The kinetics of chemical oxygen-iodine lasers can be divided into five categories: 1) the chemistry of singlet oxygen generators, 2) the chemistry of COIL in the presence of water aerosols, 3) transport of singlet oxygen in the absence of iodine, 4) the dissociation of molecular iodine by excited oxygen, and 5) the kinetics of iodine atoms and excited oxygen. Only the last three kinetics topics are covered in this review. This report presents the Air Force Weapons Laboratory Standard Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser Kinetics Package. A complete reaction scheme including recommended rate coefficients for modeling the gas phase kinetics of chemical oxygen-iodine lasers (COIL) was established to provide a common basis for the research and development of COIL devices. A review of the experimental kinetic data base from which the model was derived is also presented. However, the fully coupled, reactive mixing and optical physics problems inherent in supersonic chemical oxygen-iodine lasers are not addressed. (aw).

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.

Written by a distinguished plasma scientist and experienced author, this up-to-date work comprehensively covers current methods and new developments and techniques, including non-equilibrium atomic and molecular plasma states, as well as such new applications as gas lasers. Containing numerous appendices with reference data indispensable for plasma spectroscopy, such as statistical weights and partition sums and diatomic molecules. For plasmaphysicists, spectroscopists, materials scientists and physical chemists. Appendix H is only available online.

This report results from a contract tasking Lebedev Physics Institute as follows: Previous research carried out under the ISTC partner contracts has demonstrated that an electric discharge could be a powerful means for producing highly excited CO molecules needed for overtone CO lasers, for producing electrically excited oxygen and for obtaining iodine atoms via iodine dissociation, which can be extremely useful for the development of the electrically assisted oxygen-iodine laser. Therefore, the Project will be aimed at improving understanding of three main problems tightly related to each other: the experimental and theoretical study of the kinetics of highly excited CO molecules in an E-beam and RF discharge, which is extremely important for development of efficient overtone CO laser (including the supersonic CO laser); the experimental and theoretical study of singlet-delta oxygen (SDO) kinetics in E-beam and DC discharges, which is important for efficient SDO production and development of an electrically-assisted oxygen-iodine laser; the experimental and theoretical study of the kinetics of atomic iodine production in vortex flow DC discharges, which is important for the improvement of chemical oxygen-iodine lasers. The research team proposed for this project consists of experts from the Gas Laser Lab and Chemical Lasers Lab of the Quantum Radiophysics Institute of the Lebedev Physics Institute in Moscow and the Samara Branch of the Lebedev Institute. The research team has extensive experience in the field of experimental and theoretical fundamental research on kinetic processes taking place in the active media of different electric discharge and chemical lasers.