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We report first-Stokes vibrational conversion efficiency of 21 percent and 35 percent, respectively, in high-pressure O2- and N2-stimulated Raman cells. Broadband superfluorescence is employed to seed these Raman cells, significantly increasing the conversion efficiences with no measured effect on the Raman spectrum. The addition of helium buffer gas reduces competition from stimulated Brillouin scattering and improves the pulse-to-pulse stability and spatial mode quality by increasing the thermal conductivity. Further improvement of the spatial mode quality is achieved by use of gentle heating on the bottom of the cell to induce convection.

The use of the resonant Doppler velocimeter for flow visualization in a free supersonic nitrogen jet is demonstrated experimentally. In the experiment reported here, room-temperature nitrogen at 12.7 psi expands through a Mach 3.4 converging diverging nozzle into a plenum chamber; small amount of sodium is injected through a heated needle centered 0.5-in. upstream of the nozzle throat. The beam of a single frequency dye laser is expanded into a sheet of light with a cylindrical beam expander and directed counter to the jet to spatially resolve any slice across the core of the flow. By tuning the laser to different frequencies, particular velocity and density fields can be highlighted.

This study evaluates various non-intrusive techniques for the measurement of the flow field on the windward side of the Space Shuttle orbiter or a similar reentry vehicle. Included are linear (Rayleigh, Raman, Mie, Laser Doppler Velocimetry, Resonant Doppler Velocimetry) and nonlinear (Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman, Laser-Induced Fluorescence) light scattering, electron-beam fluorescence, thermal emission, and mass spectroscopy. Flow-field properties were taken from a nonequilibrium flow model by Shinn, Moss, and Simmonds at the NASA Langley Research Center. Conclusions are, when possible, based on quantitative scaling of known laboratory results to the conditions projected. Detailed discussion with researchers in the field contributed further to these conclusions and provided valuable insights regarding the experimental feasibility of each of the techniques.

The application of the resonant Doppler velocimeter (RDV) for obtaining the mean velocity, temperature, and pressure measurements and flow-field visualization in a supersonic free nitrogen jet is reported. This method utilizes laser-induced fluorescence to determine the spectral absorption of an atomic or molecular species seeded into the flow. A narrow linewidth tunable laser is directed into the flow and the total fluorescence from any point is obtained as the laser is tuned. The velocity of the flow is obtained from the Doppler shifted absorption frequency, and the temperature and pressure of the gas are determined from line broadening measurements. Results are presented for the use of this technique to determine the velocity, temperature, and pressure of the flow of sodium atoms seeded into a supersonic nitrogen jet. It is concluded that the visible signal is sufficiently intense for spatially resolved flow visualization purposes.

A resonant Doppler velocimeter technique is introduced for time averaged gas flow turbulence fluctuation measurements. A monochrome laser beam is shone through a flow seeded with an atomic or molecular species that has an absorption frequency to which the laser is tuned. The resulting fluorescence is recorded by a detector, and the Doppler shift of the absorption frequency yields the velocity component of the flow in the direction of the beam. Static temperature and pressure data are available from the spectroscopic absoption line broadening. An analytical formulation of the laser-induced fluorescence intensity is defined and related to the velocity, temperature, and pressure. Comparison with data from a Na-seeded laminar supersonic jet demonstrates the accuracy of both the technique and model. Varying the pump laser frequency allows determination of the mean square velocity, temperature, and pressure fluctuations.

This study evaluates the utility of various non-intrusive techniques for the measurement of the flow field on the windward side of the Space Shuttle or a similar re-entry vehicle. Included are linear (Rayleigh, Raman, Mie, Laser Doppler Velocimetry, Resonant Doppler Velocimetry) and nonlinear (Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman, Laser Induced Fluorescence) light scattering, electron beam fluorescence, thermal emission and mass spectroscopy. Flow field properties are taken from a nonequilibrium flow model by Shinn, Moss and Simmonds at NASA Langley. Conclusions are, when possible, based on quantitative scaling of known laboratory results to the conditions projected. Detailed discussion with researchers in the field contributed further to these conclusions and provided valuable insights regarding the experimental feasibility of each of the techniques.

Both mean flow and turbulence measurements were investigated using the resonant Doppler velocimeter in a Mach 3.2 nitrogen flow. Data are presented showing velocity, temperature and pressure measured point by point across the flow field. This data is compared with conventional pitot and temperature surveys. Turbulence was induced by a small metal tab in the flow and observed by both hot wire and RDV techniques. Photographs of the flow field demonstrate the utility of the RDV for quantitative flow field visualization.

Two compound parabolic concentrators are used to create a 180-deg-field-of-view spectral filter. The collection optics are reflective and are designed to collimate the light through a multilayer interference filter and then to refocus it onto an optical detector. Assuming unit reflectance and no loss through the optical filter, this device operates at the thermodynamic collection limit.

This paper presents a new wide field of view laser beacon system for measurement, in three dimensions, of aircraft or other remote objects. The system is developed for aircraft collision hazard warning independent of ground-based hardware, as well as for flight research, helicopter-assisted construction and rescue, and robotic manipulation applications. Accurate information describing the relative range, elevation, and azimuth of the aircraft are generated by the sweep of a low-power fan-shaped rotating laser beacon past an array of optical detectors. The system achieves a wide angle of acceptance of laser beacon light through use of compound parabolic concentrators, which collimate the light for spectral filtering to minimize solar interference. An on-board microprocessor system converts the pulse sequence to aircraft position in real time. System reliability and performance are enhanced through narrow pass filtering of the pulse signals, digital logic design to mask spurious signals, and adaptive modulation of trigger threshold levels.

The development objectives for a laser beacon collision avoidance system are outlined. A system suitable to general aviation aircraft is briefly described.

The foreign-gas collision broadening of the Na D2 line by He at a temperature of 8 K is measured. These data combined with those of other investigators provide an empirical scaling of the collision rates and cross sections over a wide range of temperatures and relative velocities, respectively.