Chemical Lasers

Chemical lasers are different from other lasers because the population inversion is the direct product of a chemical reaction when energy is released as a result of an exothermic reaction. Usually reactions involve gases where the energy created is used to make vibrationally excited molecules. Light used for lasing is then created from vibrational-rotational relaxation like in the CO₂ gas laser. An example of a chemical laser is the HF gas laser. Inside the gas chamber fluorine and hydrogen react to form an excited HF molecule:

F + H₂ → HF + H

The excess energy from the reaction allows HF to stay in its excited state. As it relaxes, light is emitted through spontaneous emission. Deuterium can also be used in place of hydrogen. Deterium fluoride is useds for applications that require high-power. For example, MIRACL was built for military research and was known to produce 2.2 megawatts of power. The uniqueness of a chemical laser is that the power required for lasing is produced in the reaction itself.