AN OPTICALLY PUMPED MIDINFRARED HBR LASER

The results of experiments on a pulsed optically pumped vibrational tr ansition HBr laser are discussed. In these experiments, rotation-vibra tion transitions in the first overtone band near 2 mum are pumped with an optical parametric oscillator. Lasing is generated in (2, 1) band transitions near 4 mum. The laser performance is governed by gas phase kinetic processes, which redistribute the absorbed pump energy during the evolution of the laser pulse. A maximum 4-mum output energy of 0. 85 mJ was obtained with 3.47 mJ of absorbed pump energy.