Optically pumped molecular lasers in the 11–17-μm region

A large number of laser transitions in the 11–17-μm region have been obtained by optically pumping CF4, NOCl, CF3I, and NH3 with a single line-tunable CO2 TEA laser. These lasers have respectable conversion efficiency and can be scaled to high energies in a spectral region where the selective excitation of molecules is prerequisite to performing selective photodissociation and laser-induced chemistry experiments.