Collisionally induced lasing in CO2and N2O using vibrationally excited CO

Continuous-wave oscillation has been observed on a number of P-branch transitions belonging to the     

Higher order harmonics of CO2and N2O laser difference frequencies

The generation of the fourth and fifth harmonics of the difference frequency between two 28-THz laser lines, by a tungsten-nickel diode, was observed.     

A TE duolaser providing simultaneous lasing on CO2and N2O transitions

Simultaneous laser action on CO2and N2O transitions has been achieved in a helical resistor-pin-type transversely excited (TE) laser. The laser emits typically a power of 10-100 kW in a 700-ns-long pulse which consists basically of two overlapping pulses, the peaks of which do not coincide, and which can be associated with the CO2and N2O emission, respectively. The conditions of optimal operation are described and the effects of some parameter changes are indicated.     

Optical pumping by CO2and N2O lasers: New CW FIR emissions in 1,1-difluoroethane

53 new CW FIR laser lines are reported in 1,1-difluoroethane optically pumped near 10 μm by CO2and N2O lasers. The emission spectrum initially reported in the literature consisted of four lines between 770 and 458 μm and has now been extended to the 2.39 mm- 319 μm region. The reason for this extension, especially to the long wavelengths, is analyzed.     

PassivelyQ-switched N2O laser

Freon 12 and SF6have been used to passivelyQswitch laser transitions fromR(17)toP(36)in the00deg1-10deg0N2O band. Pulses having a half-intensity width of 0.75 μs with peak powers 10-20 times the CW power were observed.     

Pulsed N2O molecular laser studies

The afterglow pulse-gain technique was used to measure the relaxation of the 00°1 upper laser level in N2O from 300 to 700°K. The rate constantk_{N_{2}O}(torr^-1s^-1) varies with temperature aslog10k_{N_{2}O} = 4.53 - 10.9T^{-1/3}. Measurements of the relaxation time at 300°K agree with the fluorescence technique results of Yardley [1]. Gain studies were also made with gas mixtures in a nonflowing system. Single-pulsed N2O + CO + He mixtures at 300°K showed considerable peak gain. However, subsequent pulses of these mixtures show that the gain is reduced because of the chemical reaction forming CO2. Measurements of this transformation from one molecular laser mixture to another are discussed.     

Direct optical pumping of high-pressure CO2and N2O lasers with a pulsed HF pump laser

Pulsed HF laser radiation has been used for direct optical excitation of CO2and N2O lasers at 10 and 5 atm gas pressures, respectively, which are the pressures required for continuous laser frequency tuning between the line centers in these gases. The maximum demonstrated quantum efficiency is about 14 percent, which seems to be limited by the formation of pressure waves in the gas, in addition to losses in the resonator optics. We find that quantum efficiencies close to unity are theoretically feasible with a low-loss resonator, and by using a sufficiently short pump pulse to avoid a serious influence from pressure waves. The excitation scheme can be used with any of the CO2and N2O laser isotopes.     

Improved operation of N2O TE lasers

The operation of a transversely excited N2O laser is improved by the addition of H2or CO to the discharge. The improvement is due to the effective nullification of the dissociative electron attachment reaction with N2O.     

Third-harmonic generation in a mixture of DBr and N2O

Third-harmonic generation of CO2P(24) 10.6 mum laser radiation was achieved in a mixture of DBr and N2O. The ratio of DBr and N2O used was 29:1. A frequency tripled signal was observed up to a total pressure of 4 atm.     

Gas dynamic CO2-He-(N2) laser investigations

Experiments on IR laser action and gain measurements are reported for a CO2-containing gas mixture flow that cools as a result of expansion. The mixture is preheated by a reflected shock wave, and the gas is expanded into a vacuum through a slit. Laser action is obtained in a CO2-He mixture, while the addition of nitrogen increases the gain. The gain was found to depend on the distance from the slit and the gas pressure before the slit.     

Status of CO2isotope lasers and their applications in tunable laser spectroscopy

The use of CO2isotopes can provide a manifold expansion of the usable frequency range of sealed-off CO2lasers. Determination of the frequency, gain, and saturation parameter of the various CO2isotopic laser transitions will be discussed. Design considerations for constructing CO2isotopic lasers and selected applications will be presented.     

Active mode locking of a high-pressure pulsed N2O laser

Experimental results on the active mode locking of a transversely excited N2O laser at subatmospheric pressures are presented. Nanosecond pulses of 10.8-μ radiation were produced with typical peak-power outputs in the 100-kW range.     

A radiatively pumped CW CO2laser

A proof of principle experiment to demonstrate the physics of a radiatively pumped laser has been carried out. For the first time, a blackbody cavity has optically pumped a CW CO2laser. Results are presented from a series of experiments using mixtures of CO2, He, and Ar in which maximum output power was obtained with a 20 percent CO2- 15 percent He-65 percent AR mixture. The dependence of the output power on the blackbody temperature and the cooling gas flow rate is also discussed. By appropriately varying these parameters, continuous output powers of 8-10 mW have been achieved.     

Studies of CW lasing action in CO2-CO,N2O-CO, CO2-H2O, and N2O-H2O mixtures pumped by blackbody radiation

A proof of principle experiment to evaluate the efficacy of CO and H₂O in increasing the power output for N₂O and CO ₂ lasing mixtures has been conducted and theoretically analyzed for a blackbody radiation-pumped laser. The results for N₂ O-CO, CO₂-CO, N₂O-H₂O and CO₂-H₂O mixtures are presented. Additions of CO to the N₂O lasant increased power up to 28% for N₂O laser mixtures, whereas additions of CO to the CO₂ lasant, and the addition of H₂O to both the CO₂ and N₂O lasants, resulted in decreased output power     

Laser parameters for the 10.8-µ N2O molecular laser

Measurements were made of the radiative lifetime for the 001-100 transition in N2O, the absolute population densities of the laser levels, and the saturation parameter in a typical flowing N2O-N2-He laser. These numbers are compared with the corresponding parameters in the CO2-N2-He system to explain the difference in their performance characteristics. In addition, dissociation of N2O in a discharge and power enhancement in the N2ON2-He laser by adding CO are discussed.     

黑体泵浦CO_2-CO,N_2O-CO,CO_2-H_2O和N_2O-H_2O激光的研究

本文对黑体辐射泵浦CO_2激光和N_2O激光由于CO和H_2O的加入所引起的激光功率变化进行了理论和实验研究.CO的加入可使的N_2O激光功率增加28%.     

A long-pulse high-energy CO2laser pumped by an ultraviolet-sustained electric discharge

A UV-sustained electric-discharge CO2laser has demonstrated optical energy-density extraction and long-pulse performance competitive with currente-beam sustained devices. Atmospheric-pressure CO2-N2-He mixtures seeded with tri-n-propylamine are volumetrically photoionized using the 1200-1700-Å radiation from a spark-array source. Laser pulse lengths up to 37 μs have been achieved with a specific energy of 47 J/1.atm. The best specific energy demonstrated was 60 J/1.atm in a 23-μs pulse.     

CO2pulsed laser radiation tellurium detectors

Subnanosecond detectors and beam monitors for pulsed CO2laser radiation using the photon drag and optical rectification effects in tellurium are presented. Tellurium devices at 10.6 μ have a response of the order of 80 μV/kW . cm^-2with an NEP of8 times 10^{-4}W . Hz^1/2andD*of 500 cm . Hz^1/2/W which is superior to commercially available photon drag detectors and monitors. It is also expected and experimentally demonstrated that the responsivities of large area monitors can be multiplied by cutting the original area into multi-element strips and electrically connecting them in series.