Title :
Enhanced performance of the iodine monofluoride (491 nm) laser
Author :
Kane, Karen Y. ; Eden, J. Gary
Author_Institution :
Everitt Lab., Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL, USA
fDate :
9/1/1990 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
The impact of substituting HI for CF3I as the iodine donor in the discharge-pumped iodine monofluoride (IF) laser at 491 nm has been investigated. More than an order of magnitude improvement in output pulse energy has been observed and is attributed to more efficient production of low-lying (v\´<5) vibrational levels of the IF (D\´) ion pair state. Preliminary evidence indicates that vibrational excitation of HI (X1Σ+ ) assists in the relaxation of the D\´ state population. The increased net small-signal gain of D\´→A\´ (v\´=0→v") transitions in HI-containing gas mixtures has the effect of intensifying the 491-nm (0.15) bandhead relative to the lower gain transitions
Keywords :
gas lasers; hydrogen compounds; iodine compounds; laser transitions; molecular excited states; 491 nm; D´ state population; D´→A´ HI laser transitions; HI; IF; discharge pumped lasers; ion pair state; net small-signal gain; output pulse energy; vibrational excitation; vibrational levels; Energy measurement; Gas lasers; Helium; Laboratories; Laser transitions; Optical filters; Optical pulses; Pulse measurements; Pump lasers; Thyratrons;
Journal_Title :
Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of
