Abstract
The general conditions necessary for the operation of gas lasers based on cascade vibrational-rotational transitions of molecules in the pulse-periodic regime are formulated. The features of such triatomic-molecule lasers with arbitrary excitation are discussed. A computation model is proposed for determining the energy characteristics (maximum attainable efficiency, average and relative lasing power, specific energy output) of free-flow cascade lasers. Systems are analyzed with various excitation methods: gasdynamic (including those with optical feedback), electric-discharge, and chemical (with the DF-CO2 laser as the example). Practical recommendations with respect to the choice of mixture composition, optimum cavity lengths along the gas stream, and Q-switching frequency are made for the cascade lasers. A molecular gasdynamic laser emitting three wavelengths simultaneously is proposed.
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Quantum Radiophysics and Optics Division, Lebedev Physics Institute. Translated from Preprint No. 177 of the Lebedev Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the USSR, Moscow, 1989
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Biryukov, A.S., Shcheglov, V.A. Lasers operating on cascade transitions of triatomic molecules. J Russ Laser Res 11, 145–171 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01120904
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01120904