Excitation‐transfer nitrogen lasers

A high‐power, high efficiency laser with a wavelength in the visible or near‐ultraviolet would be very desirable for such proposed applications as laser‐induced fusion and isotope separation. Demonstration models of systems that might lead to this goal have been recently reported from the Naval Research Laboratory, Northrop Corporation, the University of Texas at Dallas and the Lebedev Physics Institute in Moscow. All these systems employ electron‐beam energy deposition; they all use rare‐gas and nitrogen mixtures, and they lase at wavelengths in the 3000–5000 Å range with efficiencies around 2%. At Los Alamos work is proceeding on a somewhat different approach that attempts to increase the output pulse length of lasers of this type.