Evolution of the electric discharge oxygen-iodine laser

Experiments and modeling have led to a continuing evolution of the Electric Oxygen-Iodine Laser (ElectricOIL) system. This continuous wave (cw) laser operating on the 1315 nm transition of atomic iodine is pumped by the production of O-2(a) in a radio-frequency (RF) discharge in an O-2/He/NO gas mixture. New discharge geometries have led to improvements in O-2(a) production and efficiency. Further, size scaling is presently showing a super-linear growth in performance; a 95% enhancement in cw laser power was achieved via a 50% increase in gain length, flow rates, and discharge power. New gain recovery measurements and modeling downstream of an operating laser cavity are presented in this work for a wider range of flow conditions to help identify previously unidentified kinetic processes. Larger volume resonators that extend further downstream in the flow direction were able to extract more of the excess energy being carried by the O-2(a) from the ElectricOIL gain medium; a further 87% increase in extracted laser power was obtained. As understanding of the ElectricOIL system continues to improve, the design of the laser systematically evolves. The gain has improved by more than 100-fold from the initial demonstration of 0.002% cm(-1) to 0.26% cm(-1), and similarly the outcoupled laser power has increased more than 600-fold from 0.16 W to 109 W.