Inventors:
William K. Bischel - Menlo Park CA
Ralph R. Jacobs - Livermore CA
Donald Prosnitz - Hamden CT
Charles K. Rhodes - Palo Alto CA
Patrick J. Kelly - Fort Lewis WA
Assignee:
The United States of America as represented by the United States
Department of Energy - Washington DC
International Classification:
H01S 322
Abstract:
Method and apparatus for producing laser radiation by two-photon optical pumping of an atomic or molecular gaseous medium and subsequent lasing action. A population inversion is created as a result of two-photon absorption of the gaseous species. Stark tuning is utilized, if necessary, in order to tune the two-photon transition into exact resonance. In particular, gaseous ammonia (NH. sub. 3) or methyl fluoride (CH. sub. 3 F) is optically pumped by a pair of CO. sub. 2 lasers to create a population inversion resulting from simultaneous two-photon excitation of a high-lying vibrational state, and laser radiation is produced by stimulated emission of coherent radiation from the inverted level.