Effect of Beam Quality on the Scaling of High-Energy Flow Lasers

Abstract

The maximum output power from high-energy flow lasers is primarily determined by the specific power or power density that can be deposited in the laser medium and by the outcoupling efficiency of the laser resonator. The maximum laser far field intensity, however, depends on the beam quality that can be achieved with the laser system. Whereas the power loading of the laser gas medium has been extensively discussed elsewhere, this paper is devoted to a theoretical investigation of the effect of gas flow inhomogeneities on the laser beam quality, and thus en the maximum obtainable far field laser intensity. Whereas chapter 2 of this paper illustrates results of a detailed numerical code, a far field scaling based upon a simplified model is presented and discussed in chapters 3 and 4, respectively. This approach may considerably alter the scaling of well-known high energy flow laser candidates.