Atomic lasers with exciplex assisted absorption
AssigneesCU Aerospace, LLC, The Board of the University of Illinois
InventorsJoseph T. Verdeyen, James Gary Eden, David L. Carroll, Jason D. Readle, Clark J. Wagner
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Abstract
The present invention provides in one of the embodiments for either a continuous wave (cw) or pulsed alkali laser having an optical cavity resonant at a wavelength defined by an atomic transition, a van der Waals complex within the optical cavity, the van der Waals complex is formed from an alkali vapor joined with a polarizable gas, and a pump laser for optically pumping the van der Waals complex outside of the Lorentzian spectral wings wherein the van der Waals complex is excited to form an exciplex that dissociates forming an excited alkali vapor, generating laser emission output at the wavelength of the lasing transition.
Claims12
An alkali laser comprising:
- an optical cavity;
- van der Waals complexes within said optical cavity, each van der Waals complex formed from an alkali atom joined with a polarizable atom or molecule;
- and
- a pump laser for optically pumping said van der Waals complexes in a spectral satellite wherein the van der Waals complex is excited to form a excited molecule that subsequently dissociates, producing an excited alkali atom, thereby resulting in the generation of a laser emission on a transition of the excited alkali atom that terminates to a ground state, and wherein a wavelength of the pump laser optically pumps said van der Waals complex to either:
- (a) an A2Π3/2 or B2Σ+1/2 state, both A2Π3/2 and B2Σ+1/2 states dissociate to form the excited alkali atom in a 2P3/2 state and wherein the lasing transition is known as a D2 transition and returns the excited alkali atom to the ground state of 2S1/2, or
- (b) an A2Π1/2, state which dissociates to form the excited alkali atom in a 2P1/2 state and wherein the lasing transition is known as a D1 transition and returns the excited alkali atom, to the ground state 2S1/2.
An alkali laser comprising:
- an optical cavity resonant at a wavelength to define a lasing transition;
- a van der Waals complex within said optical cavity, said van der Waals complex formed from an alkali vapor joined with a polarizable gas;
- and
- a pump laser for optically pumping said van der Waals complex outside of the Lorentzian spectral wings having a full width half maximum (FWHM) of no greater than 6 nm that are centered on the D2 alkali transition, wherein the van der Waals complex is excited to form an exciplex that dissociates forming an excited alkali vapor and for generating a laser emission output at the wavelength of the lasing transition and wherein a wavelength of the pump laser optically pumps said van der Waals complex to:
- (a) either an A2Π3/2 or B2Σ+1/2 state, both A2Π3/2 and B2Σ+1/2 states dissociate to form the excited alkali vapor in a 2P3/2 state and wherein the lasing transition is known as a D2 transition and returns the excited alkali vapor to the ground state of 2S1/2, or
- (b) an A2Π1/2 state which dissociates to form the excited alkali vapor in a 2P1/2 state and wherein the lasing transition is known as a D1 transition and returns the excited alkali vapor to the ground state 2S1/2.
A method for lasing comprising:
- pumping, with a pump laser, a van der Waals complex, outside of the Lorentzian spectral wings having a full width half maximum (FWHM) of no greater than 6 nm that are centered on the D2 alkali transition, wherein the van der Waals complex is formed from an alkali vapor joined with a polarizable gas such that during pumping of the van der Waals complex, the van der Waals complex excites to form an exciplex that dissociates forming an excited alkali vapor, and generating laser emission output with an optical resonator at a wavelength defined by an atomic transition and wherein the step of pumping is done at a wavelength to pump the van der Waals complex to:
- (a) either an A2Π3/2 or B2Σ+1/2 state, both A2Π3/2 and B2Σ+1/2 states dissociate to form the excited alkali vapor in a 2P3/2 state wherein the lasing transition is known as a D2 transition and returns the excited alkali vapor to the ground state of 2S1/2, or
- (b) an A2Π1/2 state which dissociates to form the excited alkali vapor in the 2P1/2 state and wherein the lasing transition is known as a D1 transition and returns the excited alkali vapor to the ground state 2S1/2.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.