ABSTRACT
Quite different from all other lasers in this book are those pumped by chemical reactions, rather than by electrical or optical means. The chemical iodine oxygen, COIL, laser (Chapter 33, Boris Barmashenko and Samit Rosenwaks) is the only known example of a high-power chemically driven electronic transition laser. The reaction of gaseous chlorine with basic hydrogen peroxide solution produces enormous (multi-megawatt) power at 1315 nm and 30% chemical efficiency. Its development was driven by military applications, but it is also suitable for some material processing applications, such as in the heavy cutting needed in some nuclear decommissioning work. In Chapter 34, Lee Sentman describes HF and DF chemical lasers, with wavelengths of 2.8 and 3.8 μm, respectively, or in the range 1.3–1.4 μm for the HF overtone laser. Small-scale lasers with power outputs in the range of tens to hundreds of watts are available commercially.
