Gasdynamic Lasers: An Introduction

Gasdynamic Lasers: An Introduction is a 12-chapter introductory text to major development generations of gasdynamic lasers, focusing on their underlying physical and fundamental aspects. The opening chapters discuss the basic detailed physical phenomena that ultimately are responsible for producing gasdynamic laser action and the methods of calculating the performance of these devices. These topics are followed by a chapter on confirmation of the performance calculations through arc and shock tunnel experiments. The discussion then shifts to vibrational relaxation process behind normal shock waves in CO2-N2-He mixtures and assesses their population inversions occurring in the nonequilibrium flow. Other chapters explore the concepts of downstream mixing and optical cavity in gasdynamic lasers, as well as the laser beam extracted from these devices. A systematic study of aerodynamic windows that use supersonic flow across the aperture is presented in the concluding chapters, along with the phenomena associated with gasdynamic laser diffusers. This introductory text will be of great value to professional scientists and engineers, as well as to students and workers in the field who are interested in interdisciplinary applied science.