V. A. Zolotarev

Features of kinetic processes in the active medium of a pulsed chemical oxygen-iodine laser

ConclusionIt can be concluded from our experiments and calculations that the product CF3O2 of the interaction between the CF3 radical and the O2 molecule quenches the oxygen O2(1Δ) more strongly. At low chlorine admixture density in the singlet-oxygen stream this output energy of the oxygen-iodine laser with CF3I as the atomic iodine donor is lower compared with CH3I. The rate constant of quenching singlet oxygen by CF3O2 molecules is (3–5)·10−11 cm3·sec−1. It would be possible to decrease the influence of CF3O2 by adding to the initial O2*−O2−CF3I−Ar active mixture some other substance causing the CF3 radicals to enter in a chemical reaction with a shorter characteristic time than that for CF3O2 formation. Of course, neither the initial substance nor the reaction products should quench O2* noticeably. This role can be possibly assumed by the NO molecule.The influence of the chlorine additive on the output energy of a laser with CH3I and CF3I differs greatly. The choice of the chlorine donor must therefore be determined by the amount of this additive. CH3I is preferable if the chlorine is fully utilized in the singlet-oxygen laser, and CF3I in the opposite case.