Ammonia laser pumped transversely by optical radiation

A high-pressure ammonia laser pumped transversely by the 9R(30) line of a TEA CO2 laser was constructed and investigated. Lasing was observed at frequencies 828 and 868 cm–1 when pressure in a 14NH3–14N2 mixture was up to 4 atm and at a frequency 777 cm–1 when the pressure in a 15NH3–14N2 mixture was up to 1.5 atm. The maximum output energy of the 14NH3 and 15NH3 isotopic species was 21 and 5 mJ, respectively, when the volume of the active region was 4 cm3 and the divergence of the output radiation was 20 mrad. At pump intensities of 1 GW/cm2 it was possible to achieve lasing as a result of aP(J,K) transitions, where J≥5 and K=0–4 from the 14NH3–14N2 mixture at pressures up to 10 atm, so that continuous tuning of the emission frequency of the laser was possible within 6.3 cm–1.