Abstract

The invention and development by Ali Javan and his colleagues of the helium neon gaseous laser stimulated many physicsts and engineers to study other possible gaseous laser systems. The discovery by Kumar Patel of the N₂–CO₂ system then set the stage for the development of the first high power cw system. It should be pointed out that, even prior to the introduction of the nitrogen-CO₂ system, engineers and scientists were already examining the implication of flow on the performance and power capabilities of potential gaseous laser systems, in the 1960s, N₂–CO₂ systems were rapidly upgraded from watts to near-megawatts of continuous power through the synergy of fluid mechanics and gas physics. The work was particularly appealing and benefited from the prior work of physicists and engineers who were already invovled in the study of reacting flow systems via their interest in combustion and/or reentry physics. The availability of efficient conversion of electrical or thermal energy to coherent radiation energy immediately stimulated a search for applications such as directed energy weapons, beam power, and the application of laser technology as a new tool for materials processing.

© 1986 Optical Society of America