Abstract: The Chemical Oxygen-Iodine Laser (COIL) has beendeveloped at the Air Force Research Laboratory formilitary applications. For example, the COIL is to beuse as the laser device for the ABL. A high power laseris useful for applications that require the delivery ofa substantial amount of energy to a very small focusedlaser spot. The COIL is a member of the class of highpower lasers that are also useful for industrialapplications, including the materials processing taskof high speed cutting and drilling. COIL technology hasreceived considerable interest over the last severalyears due to its short, fiber- deliverable wavelength,scalability to very high powers, and demonstratednearly diffraction-limited optical quality. Theseunique abilities make it an ideal candidate for nuclearreactor decommissioning and nuclear warheaddismantlement. Japanese researchers envision using aCOIL for disaster cleanup and survivor rescue. It isalso being studied by the oil and gas industry for welldrilling. Any commercial or industrial application thatrequires very rapid, precise, and noninvasive cuttingor drilling, could be readily accomplished with a COIL.Because of the substantial power levels available witha COIL, the laser could also be used for broad areaapplications such as paint stripping. This paperincludes a collection of experiments accomplished atthe Air Force Research Laboratory Chemical LaserFacility, including metal cutting, hole drilling, highpower fiber optic transmission, and rock crushing. !7
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