Proposal for vacuum-ultraviolet anti-Stokes Raman lasers based on the group VI elements

Metastable inversions in the(1)S(0) state of the group VI elements (oxygen, sulfur, and selenium) are proposed as host media for a new class of anti-Stokes Raman laser. Selective photodissociation of N(2)O, OCS, or OCSe with appropriate VUV wavelengths can create (1)S(0) inversion densities in excess of 10(16) atoms/cm(3). Using this population inversion to upconvert tunable input lasers should result in the creation of efficient, high-power lasers over the 100-206-nm spectral region.