Abstract

High power pulses can be achieved in chemical oxygen-iodine lasers by rapid gain or loss modulation. This produces the ideal beam format for numerous laser applications. When these lasers are pulsed, relaxation oscillations are sometimes observed. We develop and analyze conditions for the existence of relaxation oscillations and derive expressions for the period and pulse decay rate. The temporal evolution of the photon density follows a damped harmonic oscillator equation. The derived expressions for the period are in good agreement with more detailed numerical simulations of the oxygen-iodine laser system. In particular, we identify conditions for the disappearance of the oscillations. The dependence of these oscillations on O₂(¹Δ) and iodine partial pressures is presented.

© 1992 Optical Society of America