TIME RESOLVED TARGET AND PLUME OPTICAL PROPERTIES MEASUREMENTS DURING RP LASER INTERACTIONS

ANTROPIX CORPORATION PROPOSES TO OBTAIN TIME RESOLVED TARGET AND PLUME OPTICAL PROPERTIES MEASUREMENTS DURING RP LASER INTERACTIONS. TARGET ABSORBANCES (BOTH SURFACE AND IN-DEPTH) AND REFLECTANCES WILL BE DETERMINED WITH INTEGRATING SPHERE DEVICES PLUS PROBE BEAMS AND FAST DETECTORS. PLUME OPTICAL PROPERTIES DUE TO ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, PARTICULATE, AND PLASMA SPECIES WILL BE DETERMINED USING LASER PROBE ATTENUATION BEAMS AND FAST MULTICHANNEL DETECTORS. OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF BOTH BASELINE AND HARDENED MATERIALS WILL BE EXAMINED DURING IRRADIATIONS WITH RP HF/DF CHEMICAL LASER SYSTEMS (AT 2.7 AND 3.8 MICRONS, RESPECTIVELY) AND RP EXCIMER LASER SYSTEMS (AT 249 NM, 351 NM, ETC.). TARGET OPTICAL MEASUREMENTS WILL BE ANALYZED TO OBTAIN ABSORPTION AND SCATTERING COEFFICIENTS FOR TRANSMISSION OF LASER RADIATION THROUGH MATERIALS AND TO OBTAIN SPECULAR AND DIFFUSE REFLECTION COEFFICIENTS FOR DECOUPLING OF LASER RADIATION FROM THE TARGET SURFACE. SIMULTANEOUS PLUME ATTENUATION MEASUREMENTS WILL BE USED TO ESTABLISH THE ABUNDANCES, ENERGY CONTENTS, AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF VAPOR, PLASMA, AND DEBRIS SPECIES WITH TEMPORAL, SPATIAL, AND SPECTRAL RESOLUTION. THE EFFECTS OF LASER AND INTERACTION PARAMETERS UPON TARGET RESPONSES AND PLUME STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES (INCLUDING BEAM/PLUME COUPLING AND/OR BLOCKAGE) WILL BE DETERMINED. ALL OF THIS INFORMATION WILL BE RELATED TO MECHANISTIC MODELS OF LASER/MATERIALS INTERACTIONS, WITH PARTICULAR EMPHASIS ON LETHALITY AND TARGET HARDENING ISSUES.