Coherent anti-Stokes emission in a continuous-wave Raman laser in H-2

We report the observation of cw coherent anti-Stokes emission from a nonres onant cw Raman laser in Ha. The anti-Stokes emission is collinear with the pump and Stokes beams with a Gaussian spatial profile. The external anti-St okes to Stokes power ratio is 26.3 parts per million when the laser cavity is tuned to the center of the Raman resonance and higher for slight detunin g from line center. A steady-state theory is presented that accurately desc ribes the anti-Stokes behavior as a function of output Stokes power and det uning from the Raman resonance. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America [S0740- 3224(00)01507-1].