Feasibility of an iodine gas laser pumped by concentrated terrestrial solar radiation
- Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States). Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
The present work demonstrates the feasibility of a t-C{sub 4}F{sub 9}I iodine gas laser pumped by concentrated terrestrial solar radiation. Iodine gas lasers have advantages when compared to solid-state systems. They pump at low concentration ({approximately}100 suns, as compared to 45,000 suns for the most efficient solid-state lasers; Cooke, 1992), and thus do not require expensive, optical-grade concentration systems. The lasant medium (iodine gas) is easily cooled by flowing the lasant medium, while solid-state lasers require complicated cooling apparatus to avoid crystal fracture from thermal gradients. Finally, a gas laser is easily upsized, as the iodine gas will expand to fill any oscillation cavity. Solid-state lasers are limited by the size of the crystal that can be grown and cooled, and the higher efficiency comes at the cost of the very high solar concentration requirements. The iodine gas under consideration has a smaller overlap with the terrestrial solar spectrum than solid state lasers, and therefore has a lower efficiency. However, comparison of relative efficiencies should also include cost estimates of highly specialized optical equipment (such as sapphire CPC`s), cooling requirements (liquid nitrogen baths), and losses due to blockage of the chopper wheel. Such simplistic comparisons as ratio of power out to solar power in are misleading, as they contain the implicit assumption that solar energy must be purchased, as are fossil fuels. In reality, the solar energy is free, and the true expense is the manufacture and degree of sophistication required of the solar radiation reflection system, and the cooling system.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 250795
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Solar Energy Engineering, Vol. 118, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: May 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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