The Electric Oxygen Iodine Laser, or ElectricOIL, or EOIL, is an

infrared Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

hybrid electrical /

chemical laser A chemical laser is a laser that obtains its energy from a chemical reaction. Chemical lasers can reach continuous wave output with power reaching to megawatt levels. They are used in industry for cutting and drilling. Common examples of chemical ...

. Its output

wavelength In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats. It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...

is 1.315 μm, the wavelength of transition of atomic

iodine Iodine is a chemical element with the symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

. The

lasing A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The firs ...

state I* is produced by near-resonant

energy transfer In physics, energy (from Ancient Greek: ἐνέργεια, ''enérgeia'', “activity”) is the quantitative property that is transferred to a body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of work and in the form of heat ...

with

metastable In chemistry and physics, metastability denotes an intermediate Energy level, energetic state within a dynamical system other than the system's ground state, state of least energy. A ball resting in a hollow on a slope is a simple example of me ...

singlet oxygen Singlet oxygen, systematically named dioxygen(singlet) and dioxidene, is a gaseous inorganic chemical with the formula O=O (also written as or ), which is in a quantum state where all electrons are spin paired. It is kinetically unstable at ambie ...

O₂(''a''¹Δ) enoted hereafter as O₂(a)

Advantages

EOIL technology represents a unique class of hybrid electric gas high-energy

laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

with the potential to have inherently higher beam quality than solid state systems, while being more logistically friendly than current

Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser A chemical oxygen iodine laser (COIL) is a near–infrared chemical laser. As the beam is infrared, it cannot be seen with the naked eye. It is capable of output power scaling up to megawatts in Laser#Continuous_wave_operation, continuous mode. Its ...

(COIL) systems. The principal advantage of such an inherently high beam quality system is the trade of a relatively small fixed mass in

electrical generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its delivery (transmission, distribution, etc.) to end users or its storag ...

and

heat exchanger A heat exchanger is a system used to transfer heat between a source and a working fluid. Heat exchangers are used in both cooling and heating processes. The fluids may be separated by a solid wall to prevent mixing or they may be in direct contac ...

hardware for the massive fluid supply and large tankage associated with COIL devices.

Development

Since the first reporting of a viable

electric discharge An electric discharge is the release and transmission of electricity in an applied electric field through a medium such as a gas (ie., an outgoing flow of electric current through a non-metal medium).American Geophysical Union, National Research C ...

-driven

oxygen Oxygen is the chemical element with the symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as wel ...

laser system (also often referred to as EOIL or DOIL in the literature) by CU Aerospace (CUA) and the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign (UIUC), there have been a number of other successful demonstrations of gain and laser power.

Computational modeling Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...

of the discharge and post-discharge

kinetics Kinetics ( grc, κίνησις, , kinesis, ''movement'' or ''to move'') may refer to: Science and medicine * Kinetics (physics), the study of motion and its causes ** Rigid body kinetics, the study of the motion of rigid bodies * Chemical ki ...

has been an invaluable tool in EOIL development, allowing analysis of the production of various discharge species ₂(''a''¹Δ),_O₂(''_b''¹Σ),_O_atoms,_and_ozone.html" ;"title="atom.html" ;"title="₂(''a''¹Δ), O₂(''_b''¹Σ), O atom">₂(''a''¹Δ), O₂(''_b''¹Σ), O atoms, and ozone">O₃] and determination of the influence of Nitrogen oxide, NO_X species on system kinetics. Ionin et al. and Heaven provide comprehensive topical reviews of discharge production of O₂(a) and various EOIL studies. The highest gain in an EOIL device reported to date is 0.30% / cm, and the highest output power reported is 538 W. Over the past five years of research and development of the EOIL device, higher performance and efficiency have been consistently obtained by moving towards higher operating flow rates and pressures.

References

{{Chemical lasers Chemical lasers