Mechanism of laser action due to 4d3D1,2–5p3P20 transitions in a strontium atom

Investigations have been made of the energy and temporal characteristics of the 3066.2 and 3011.1 nm stimulated emission lines of a strontium vapor laser as a function of the discharge conditions. Experimental data are presented which confirm the hypothesis that the mechanism for depopulation of the lower active level of the lines under study is collisional spin-orbit relaxation in the ³P_j⁰ multiplet. It is concluded that the search for collisional laser action in atoms and ions exhibiting large multiplet splitting is promising.