In cavity pumping for infrared laser
AssigneeThe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
InventorsJames D. Barry, Joseph E. Brandelik
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A far infrared laser having a CO.sub.2 laser gas cell located in the same optical cavity as the far infrared cell. The CO.sub.2 gas is made to flow through the CO.sub.2 cell within the laser cavity and the far infrared gas is made to flow in the far infrared cell within the laser cavity. The current is supplied between a pair of electrodes in the CO.sub.2 cell to excite the CO.sub.2 gas. The far infrared molecules are pumped by optical energy transfer from the CO.sub.2 laser radiation. The infrared radiation is removed by an aperture in one of the mirrors and a far infrared transparent window.
Claims3
A far infrared gas laser, comprising:
- an optical laser cavity;
- means for containing lasing gas within said optical laser cavity;
- said means for containing lasing gas within said optical laser cavity including a first cell in a first portion of said optical laser cavity and a second cell, in another portion of said optical laser cavity, connected to said first cell;
- said first cell containing far infrared lasing gas molecules;
- means for providing a flow of CO.sub.2 laser gas through said second cell;
- means for maintaining a separation of said far infrared gas molecules and said CO.sub.2 gas;
- means for electrically exciting the CO.sub.2 molecules to provide a population inversion in the CO.sub.2 gas to produce intense circulating CO.sub.2 laser radiation within said optical laser cavity said CO.sub.2 radiation being absorbed by the far infrared molecules to optically excite the far infrared molecules to produce a population inversion therein to provide a circulating far infrared radiation within said optical cavity;
- means for extracting far infrared laser energy from said cavity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.