100-kHz carbon monoxide TP-PLIF imaging using ultra-narrow-linewidth burst-mode OPO

A 100-kHz rate two-photon planar laser-induced fluorescence (TP-PLIF) imaging of carbon monoxide (CO) is successfully demonstrated utilizing a narrow-linewidth optical parametric oscillator (OPO) generating light at ∼230.1 nm. A specially designed injection-seeded burst-mode OPO was constructed and characterized for this purpose. This OPO efficiently converts the 355-nm output of a high-energy nanosecond burst-mode laser to ∼230.1 nm following parametric splitting and mixing processes. Generation of an ultra-narrow-linewidth 230.1 nm laser pulse is crucial for effectively exciting CO via a two-photon process from the ground X¹Σ+ to the B¹Σ+ electronic state-enabling PLIF imaging over a large area. The experimental setup is capable of tracking high-speed flow structures of a CO/N₂ mixture, showcasing detection speeds 100 times greater than those achieved with previous femtosecond laser sources. This substantial increase in repetition rate will allow time-resolved CO-TP-PLIF measurements in highly dynamic hypersonic boundary layers and detonation-driven combustion processes for revealing chemical kinetics and turbulent aerodynamics.