Feasibility of developing a cw OH chemical laser

An analysis is made of the conditions required for efficient lasing in an OH chemical laser utilizing the H + O₃ → OН(ν) + O₂ chemical reaction. It is shown that high gains may be achieved due to vibrational-rotational transitions in the OH radical so that a substantial excess over the lasing threshold may be expected in this laser. Attention is drawn to the potential usefulness of this laser in the cw regime.