Abstract
The absorption coefficient of 50-Ω cm germanium was measured over the 400–2000 cm−1 wavenumber region for temperatures from 300 K to 450 K. Lattice absorption is negligible for wavenumbers greater than 900 cm−1; at a wavelength of 10.6 μm the absorption is due entirely to free carrier effects. The thermal runaway characteristics of germanium windows on a CO2 laser, operating at 10.6 μm, were studied. For each cooling mechanism used there was a well-defined critical value of power density (Pc), below which the germanium temperature stabilized and above which runaway occurred. The highest value of Pc obtained was 88 W cm−2, by cooling the germanium below ambient.
© 1971 Optical Society of America
Full Article | PDF ArticleMore Like This
Kalman Wilner, E. Klinger, and Walter J. Wild
Appl. Opt. 21(10) 1796-1800 (1982)
R. L. Johnson and J. D. O’Keefe
Appl. Opt. 11(12) 2926-2932 (1972)
Colin J. Hutchinson, Colin Lewis, James A. Savage, and Andrew Pitt
Appl. Opt. 21(8) 1490-1495 (1982)