Optically pumped molecular lasers in the 11–17-μm region

Abstract

A large number of laser transitions in the 11–17‐μm region have been obtained by optically pumping CF₄, NOCl, CF₃I, and NH₃ with a single line‐tunable CO₂ TEA laser. These lasers have respectable conversion efficiency and can be scaled to high energies in a spectral region where the selective excitation of molecules is prerequisite to performing selective photodissociation and laser‐induced chemistry experiments.