Pair-absorption-pumped barium laser.
This is the first reported demonstration of the use of pair-absorption transitions for optically pumping lasers. In a mixture of barium and thallium metal vapors, single-photon absorption of 3867-A laser light caused simultaneous excitation of colliding ground-state atoms to the Ba(6s6p 1P1(o)) and Tl(6p 2P(3/2)(o)) excited states. Excited-state densities of about 10(14) cm(-3) were created, and subsequent laser emission on the Ba(6s6p 1PI(o)) - Ba(6s5d 1D2) atomic transition at 1.5 microm was observed.
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Edward L. Ginzton Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
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