12 µm Raman lasers in NH3pumped by low-power CO2laser pulses

We report the operation of optically pumped 12 μm lasers in NH3using peak pumping powers as low as 2 W. These low pumping powers represent a 1-2 order-of-magnitude improvement over previously published threshold values. Measurements of the lasing offset frequency clearly demonstrate that a two-photon Raman process is responsible for optical gain at 12 μm. In light of our results, we discuss the feasibility of an optically pumped CW 12 μm laser.     

New optically pumped millimeter wave CW laser lines from methyl isocyanide

New laser transitions have been obtained at 823 938 and 2140 μm by optically pumping methyl isocyanide in a waveguide resonator which is particulatly effective at these long wavelengths. Assignments are also given.     

Millimeter and submillimeter-wave laser action in symmetric top molecules optically pumped via perpendicular absorption bands

Ninety-nine new far infrared (FIR) laser lines from 227 μm to 1.965 mm have been observed in CH3CN, CH3CCH, CH3Cl, CH3Br,and CH3I by optically pumping these gases with CO2-laser pulses of 150-μs duration.     

Generation of infrared radiation by Raman scattering and difference frequency mixing with a Nd:YAG pump

A repetitivelyQ-switched Nd:YAG laser was used to produce "eye-safe" radiation near 1.55 μm by stimulated Raman scattering in acetonitrile and in methane with photon conversion efficiencies of 14 percent and 22 percent, respectively. The laser and Stokes beams were mixed in lithium niobate to obtain 6-kW peak power pulses at the difference frequency near 3.4 μm with a photon conversion efficiency of 1.1 percent.     

Comparison of computer simulation and experimental results for a 16 µm HBr/CO2laser

An improved version of a computer model simulates 16μm laser output from an optically pumped HBr/CO2/Ar laser cavity. A rate equation approach is used to examine the time history of vibrational and rotational excitation and subsequent lasing from the HBr/ CO2gas mixture. Rotational nonequilibdum phenomena in HBr and CO2are included. The effect of bleaching a particular vibrational-rotational transition with optical saturation is modeled in detail. The results of the computer simulation are compared to the laboratory observations from two separate experiments. The model predicts accurately the effect of changing partial pressures of the constituent gases on 16μm power and energy. The model reveals the important kinetic mechanisms yielding these trends. Finally, the model is modified to simulate optical pumping by an HF laser of an HF/CO2/Ar gas mixture. A case by case comparison with the results of the HBr model prediction show significantly lower 9.4 μm powers and energies for any given HF pressure and no evidence of 16μm laser output from the HF/CO2gas mixture.     

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.     

Pulsed FIR emission from isotopic methyl fluoride

High intensity optical pumping of isotopic methyl fluoride (C¹³H3F) has yielded two new emission lines at 388 and 412 μm with powers of ∼10 kW and ∼1 kW, respectively. Experimental observations lead to the interpretation that these lines are pumped via a new mechanism in which collisionally coupled two-photon absorptions are responsible for the population inversion.     

A simple first positive system nitrogen laser for use in optical fiber measurements

A near infrared laser operating on several transitions of the first positive system of N2was developed for measurements associated with optical fibers. The laser features a simple, longitudinal, segmented design giving pulsewidths of 60 to 80 ns full width at half maximum (FWHM) and peak powers of over 600 W in the 0.86 to 0.89 μm region in addition to significant output near 1.04 and 1.23 μm. Backscatter-reflection returns from optical fibers have been obtained using the laser.     

New optically pumped CW submillimeter emission lines from OCS CH3OH and CH3OD

A new emission line has been observed by optically pumping OCS with 9 μm R(8) CO2laser radiation and has been tentatively assigned. In addition, fourteen new emission lines of CH3OD and four of CH3OH have been discovered.     

Picosecond pulse generation in optically pumped, ultrashort-cavity, InGaAsP, InP, and InGaAs film lasers

Ultrashort-cavity semiconductor film lasers made with InP, InGaAsP, and InGaAs have generated picosecond pulses over the wavelength range from 0.77 μm to 1.65 μm after optical pumping by an intense, 0.5 ps pulse at 0.625 μm. Each material composition operates over an energy range from just below the bandgap to more than 20 percent above the bandgap. For a given composition, pulse duration increases as wavelength increases; for different compositions, pulse durations increase as the bandgap energy decreases. Pulse durations range from 1.4 ps (for InP) to about 30 ps. Peak power is in the range of 1- 10 W. These unique properties of ultrashort-cavity film lasers are due to the combination of bandfilling caused by the intense photoexcitation and the ultrashort cavity, which provides widely spaced resonances to ensure single mode operation and also produces a short photon lifetime necessary for optical gain switching. The film lasers have a uniform, nearly Gaussian, spatial mode.     

A study of the CW 28-µm water-vapor laser

The low signal gain of a CW water-vapor laser at 28 μm was measured as a function of the discharge current and pressure. Together with the measurement of other quantities such as the axial electric field and the concentration of OH, a partial interpretation of the mechanisms involved in pumping the 28-μm transition was possible. Thermal equilibrium between the ν0,2nu_{2}, and ν3vibrational levels will result in a large absorption at the elevated gas temperatures observed (800-1000 K). The strong dependence of gain on the electron temperature strongly suggests that the vibrational excitation proceeds through electron-impact excitation. Only the electron-impact excitation of H2O is quantitatively capable of overcoming the large thermally induced absorption. Although vibrational-excitation transfer from H2to H2O seems insufficient, by itself, to overcome this absorption, it may provide appreciable additional gain. Pumping of the 28-μm line through electron-ion recombination and by reactions involving OH can be ruled out.     

High-efficiency, high-power difference-frequency generation at 2-4 µm in LiNbO3

High-efficiency generation of high-peak power and high-average power difference-frequency radiation, continuously tunable over the range of 2 to 4 μm, has been achieved by mixing the Nd:YAG laser radiation with the output of a near-infrared dye laser pumped by the second harmonic of the same Nd:YAG laser in LiNbO3. A peak power as high as 1.6 MW with an average power of 130 mW was obtained near 2.3 μm.     

Propagation losses at 10.6 µm in hollow-core rectangular waveguides for distributed feedback applications

Eigenvalue equations for the TE and TM modes propagating in a rectangular hollow-core waveguide are derived. The solutions to the eigenvalue equation are used to determine the theoretical losses for the lowest even order mode propagating in a rectangular waveguide whose cross-sectional dimensions are suitable for distributed feedback at 10.6 μm. Waveguide materials such as gold, BeO, glass, and germanium are analyzed. It is shown that by using gold for the top and bottom waveguide regions with BeO for the side walls, loss as small as 1.19 dB/m can be obtained with a cross-sectional dimension 0.1 mm × 0.8 mm. Using external discharge pumping the authors have created an active medium with gain in excess of 17 dB/m in a 0.08 mm hollow-core slab waveguide. Loss calculations indicate the feasibility of succesfully constructing a conventional electric discharge waveguide laser for DFB operation at 10.6 μm. Using a BeO-glass combination with cross-sectional dimensions 0.1 mm × 1 mm, a loss of 2.75 dB/m is calculated. It is also shown that a TEA waveguide laser could be built using the side walls for electrodes. This would result in a DFB waveguide laser at 10.6 μm with 2.75 dB/m loss and a cross section 0.1 mm × 2 mm. These results indicate that with good fabrication techniques and with the application of distributed feedback, it may be possible to construct a CO2waveguide laser with a significantly reduced waveguide cross section.     

Near-field emission of lead-sulfide-selenide homojunction lasers

Measurements of the near-field intensity distributions of three lead-sulfide-selenide diode lasers operating near 4.8 μm have been made as a function of injection current. Localized emission in the near field exhibits peaked structure of full width from 5 to 10 μm for operation above threshold. From the dependence of the emission profiles on injection current estimates of 25 cm^-1and 0.09 cm/A are made for the distributed loss and gain coefficients for one of the lasers. Optical confinement perpendicular to the p-n junction can be explained in terms of the homojunction properties.     

Submillimeter laser action of CW optically pumped CD2Cl2, CH2DOH, and CHD2OH

More than 30 laser lines, several of them with an intensity in the order of mW have been obtained in the submillimeter wavelength range from 100 to 900 μm by optically pumping the deuterated molecules of dichloromethane (CD2Cl2) and methanol (CD2HOH, CH2DOH) with a step tunable CO2laser.     

Long-distance gigabit-range optical fiber transmission experiments employing DFB-LD's and InGaAs-APD's

High-speed and long-distance transmission characteristics have been examined at 1.2, 2, and 4 Gbit/s, employing mesa structure DFB-DC-PBH LD transmitters and planar InGaAs APD receivers. High receiver sensitivities, -40 dBm at 1.2 Gbit/s, -37.4 dBm at 2 Gbit/s and -32.4 dBm at 4 Gbit/s, have been obtained employing high-speed and low noise InGaAs APD/FET receiver circuits. Long-span transmissions, 1.2-Gbit/s 170-km, 2-Gbit/s 141-km, and 4- Gbit/s 120-km at 1.55 μm, and 4-Gbit/s 74-km at 1.3 μm, have been performed. Power penalties caused by the LD wavelength chirping in the 1.5- μm wavelength region and error rate flooring caused by the LD side-mode oscillation in the 1.3- μm wavelength region are discussed. The transmission length is limited not only by the DFB LD wavelength chirping but also by the two-mode oscillation, which was observed at the pulse leading edge when LD bias current was near the threshold current. From the 1.3 μm wavelength 4-Gbit/s experiment, it was found that the pattern effect of the side-mode oscillation caused the error rate floor, when the LD bias current is set near the threshold current, and that the error rate floor disappeared when the bias current is set slightly above the threshold.     

Comparison of Nd 1.06 and 1.33 µm operation in various hosts

Performances of Nd in various hosts including Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF, Nd:BEL, and Nd:Cr:GSGG were characterized and compared for operation on the nominal 1.06 μm and 1.33 μm transitions. Comparison included continuous mode operation, normal mode operation,Q-switched operation, and gain measurements. Continuous lasing of Nd:Cr:GSGG under lamp pumping is reported for what may be the first time. Characterization included operation with different mirror reflectivities to obtain the internal losses, measurement of the upper laser level lifetime, measurement of the beam quality of the lasers operating under nominally similar circumstances, and measurement of the wavelength. These measurements should provide a comparison of the various Nd hosts under similar circumstances for a wide variety of operational modes and at both wavelengths of interest.     

The CW optically pumped 12.08µm Raman laser theory and experiments for high power-conversion efficiency

A model is developed to predict the performance of the continuous-wave CO2-pnmped 12.08 μm NH3laser which is operated by a two-photon or Raman-like process. The local gain and pump absorption are determined from a two-wave three-level treatment based on the density matrix formalism. A ring cavity configuration is considered and interaction of the two intensities inside the cavity are described using coupled wave equations. The subsequent 12.08μm output intensity is calculated for a wide range of operational parameters (injected pump intensity, NH3gas pressure, pump frequency offset, gain length, output coupling,... ). For a well optimized system, power-conversion efficiencies of 10-30 percent should be realistically obtained by pumping with a conventional CW CO2laser. Experiments illustrating the major conclusions are described.     

New efficient CW far-infrared optically pumped CH2F2laser

Far-infrared laser action is reported for the first time from the optically pumped CH2F2molecule. Lasing on twelve FIR transitions was produced by pumping with six emission lines in theRbranch of the 9.6 μm band of the CW CO2laser. High conversion efficiencies of up to 20 percent of the quantum limit have been obtained with the stronger FIR laser lines.     

On the design of neodymium miniature lasers

A general approach to an optimum design of miniature Nd lasers is described. Operation at 1.05 as well as 1.32 μm is considered. Maximum power output is the main criterion, and the consequences on the choice of material, neodymium concentration, laser dimensions, and pumping scheme are deduced. As an illustration, the design procedure and functioning of an Nd-pentaphosphate laser side-pumped by LED arrays are described. Pulsed operation is obtained with the laser crystal held at -13.5°C, and CW operation is possible below -49°C, the planar LED arrays being held at room temperature.