Efficient tunable H2 Raman laser

Abstract

We have obtained 85% quantum conversion by stimulated rotational Raman scattering of CO2 laser radiation in para H2. An output energy in excess of 1 J and a peak power of ∼20 MW was measured at 623 cm−1. The prelimininary measurements suggest that the temporal and spatial coherence of the generated Stokes wave are close to the ideal theoretical limitation.