Studies of F atom-based excitation chemistry for iodine lasers

In this paper we discuss vibrational to electronic energy transfer as a potential method for producing a population inversion in atomic iodine. We discuss the background of this approach and a novel, high-flux F atom source integrated into a small scale supersonic reactor. We present data for energy transfer from HF(v) and H2(v) to the I atom manifold. Using a sensitive diode laser diagnostic we have probed the ground state manifold atomic iodine and observed that the absorption on the I atom line could be reduced to an immeasureably low value. We also describe a novel, diode laser based imaging diagnostic that will have important applications in future chemical or electrical laser development.