Line-shape flattening resulting from hypersonic nozzle wedge flow in low-pressure chemical lasers

The new hypersonic wedge nozzle (HYWN) supersonic wedge nozzle design produces a significant component of directed gas flow along the optical axis of a laser cavity comparable to thermal speeds. The gain-line-shape function is broadened and the refractive-index line shape is also spread as a function of wedge-flow half-angle. An analytical treatment as well as a numerical study is presented that evaluates the Doppler-directed-flow impact on the number of longitudinal modes and their frequencies as well as on gain and refractive-index saturation of those that lase in a Fabry–Perot cavity.