Abstract:
The physical basis of the operation of an atomic iodine passive switch (for iodine photodissociation lasers) is considered. Atomic iodine is obtained by thermal dissociation of I2. An experimental dependence of the switch transmission on the radiation intensity is reported; it is in satisfactory agreement with the theory. A weak-signal attenuation by a factor of ~ 100 is achieved for 70–80% transmission of a saturating signal (I~5×108 W/cm2). It is shown that a switch of this kind can be used as a decoupler in multistage amplifying systems.