Line-tunable oscillation of a cw NH3 laser from 10.7 to 13.3 μm

A cw CO2 laser operating on the R(30) 9-μm transition is down shifted by 180 MHz in a pair of acousto-optic modulators, and used to optically pump sR(5,0) transition of NH3 at line center. Vibrational inversion is created in the ν2 mode, and cw oscillation is observed on 20 different NH3 lines, spanning the region between 10.7 and 13.3 μm. Single line output powers as high as 760 mW were measured in a waveguide cavity. The operation of this laser is explained using a simple thermalization model, and several potential applications are discussed.