Enrichment of 13C by IRMPD of CBr2F2

The CO₂-laser-induced infrared multiple photon decomposition of natural CBr₂F₂ in the presence of oxygen has been examined as a function of pulse number (30–1500), reactant pressures (CBr₂F₂, 10–150 Torr and O₂, 5–90 Torr), laser line [9P(8)–9P(32)], and laser fluence (1–3 J cm^–2) to optimize irradiation conditions for ¹³C-enrichment. CF₂O was the main carbon containing product and afterwards was converted into CO₂ via hydrolysis. A small amount of C₂Br₂F₄ was detected only under extreme conditions, for example, at high laser fluences or wavenumbers close to an absorption band. The ¹³C-atom fraction of the final product CO₂ was found to be 20–80%, depending on experimental conditions. The two-stage IRMPD process proposed previously has been examined in further detail in the present study. First, CBr₂F₂ containing about 30% of ¹³C was prepared in the ¹³C-selective IRMPD of natural CHClF₂ in the presence of Br₂. The second-stage IRMPD of the CBr₂F₂ in the presence of oxygen under selected conditions resulted in the high enrichment of ¹³C beyond 90%.     

Practical separation of silicon isotopes by IRMPD of Si2F6

Large-scale silicon isotope separation based on the IRMPD of natural Si₂F₆ has been carried out using a commercially available high power CO₂ TEA laser and a flow reaction system. The decomposition product SiF₄ containing 19–33% of ³⁰Si was obtained at a production rate of 1.5×10^–2–2.6×10^–2 mol·h^–1, depending on experimental parameters such as laser wavelength, laser fluence, pressure, and flow rate. SiF₄ containing 12% of ²⁹Si was obtained under slightly different conditions, i.e., at a shorter wavelength than that for ³⁰Si. When 39% of Si₂F₆ was decomposed at a slow flow rate, residual Si₂F₆ was found to have 99.7% of ²⁸Si. The production rate was 4.2×10^–2 mol·h^–1.     

Rotating-disk diode-pumped continuous-wave Nd:YAG laser

Continuous-Wave (CW) diode-laser-pumped experiments using rotating Nd: YAG disk(s) have been performed in the input-power range of 1–6 W and rotation-speed range of 0–25 Hz. With a single Nd: YAG disk in the laser cavity, about 1.56 W of output power at 1.06 µm due to the Nd³⁺ (⁴ F _3/2–⁴ I _11/2) transition at an absorbed input power of 4.2 W has been observed, leading to an optical-to-optical conversion efficiency of over 37% and slope efficiency of 52% using 7.5% transmission output coupler. The laser output power has been observed to decrease by either increasing the number of Nd:YAG disks in the cavity or increasing the rotation speed of the disk(s).     

First-stage enrichment in CO2-laser-induced13C separation by a two-stage IRMPD process: IRMPD of CHClF2/Br2 mixtures

We have been studying the practical CO₂-laser-induced¹³C separation by a two-stage IRMPD process. The IRMPD of natural CHClF₂ in the presence of Br₂ mainly produced CBr₂F₂, which was found to be highly enriched with¹³C. The yield and¹³C-atom fraction of CBr₂F₂ were examined as functions of pulse number, laser line, laser fluence, total pressure, and Br₂ pressure using a CO₂ TEA laser with an output less than 1 J pulse^–1 in order to optimize experimental conditions for¹³C separation. For example, we obtained CBr₂F₂ at a¹³C concentration of 55% in the irradiation of the mixture of 100-Torr CHClF₂ and 10-Torr Br₂ with the laser radiation at a wavenumber of 1045.02 cm^–1 and at a fluence of 3.4 J cm^–2. The mechanism for the IRMPD is discussed on the basis of observed results. Using 8-J pulses, we were able to obtain 1.9×10^–4 g of¹³C-enriched CBr₂F₂ (¹³C-atom fraction, 47%) per pulse under selected conditions. It is possible to produce 90% or higher¹³C by the second-stage IRMPD of the CBr₂F₂ in the presence of oxygen.     

A study of the electron quenching of excimers in a KrF* laser excited by a coaxial electron beam

Measurements of the output energy, the optical pulse length and the build-up time of the laser pulse, obtained with a coaxially e-beam pumped KrF^* laser, were performed varying the total gas fill pressure, the F₂ content and the e-beam current from 1–5 bar, 0.1–0.8% and 13.3–26.6 kA, respectively. The maximum specific extraction energy amounts to 64 J/l. The large range of measurements, especially at low F₂ concentrations, reveals the necessity to extend the kinetics of the F₂ chain in the usual computer model. With the introduction of electron quenching of KrF^* and ArF^* by dissociative attachment the predictions are also for low F₂ concentration in agreement with experiments.     

Improved three-dimensional control of a single strontium ion in an endcap trap

An endcap ion trap is described for trapping and laser cooling of a single strontium-88 ion. The 422 nm cooling laser is offset locked to the Doppler-free 5s ²S_1/2(F^′′=2)–6p ²P_1/2(F^′=3) transition in ⁸⁵Rb using saturation spectroscopy. The peak fluorescence signal from a single ion is around 6.0×10⁴ counts/s with the cooling laser at saturation intensity. Optical pumping of the ion in zero magnetic field is eliminated by the use of two 1092 nm repumper laser beams incident on the ion to create a time-varying polarisation. The ion’s micromotion can be reduced in all three dimensions, and the motional sidebands on the weak 5s ²S_1/2–4d ²D_5/2 quadrupole transition in ⁸⁸Sr⁺ have been observed. These results show the ion to be confined to less than a wavelength in three dimensions.     

Laser resonance external photoelectric effect in F 2 − color centers of LiF crystals

The laser-resonance two-step external photoelectric effect is revealed in the F ₂ ^– color centers of LiF crystals exposed to nanosecond laser pulses. The first photoionization step uses IR radiation tunable within the resonance absorption band of the color centers and the second step the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser. The photoionization cross sections of the F ₂ ^– centers are estimated.     

HF Laser Based on Thermal- and Photon-Branched Chain Reactions Initiated by IR Laser Radiation

A chemical H₂–F₂ laser (oscillator and amplifier) initiated by means of IR radiative excitation of vibrational levels of HF molecules is studied under the conditions of development of a thermal-branched chain reaction caused by thermal dissociation of gaseous additions to the laser mixture. It is shown that, using F₂SO₃ addition at a partial pressure of 40 Torr, an H₂–F₂ laser with a mixture pressure of 1~bar initiated by a pulsed hydrogen fluorine laser can provide an output exceeding 120–200 J/liter in 20–50 ns laser pulses.     

The electronic field shift factor of the 4s2S1/2−4p2PJ transitions in CaII

The isotope shifts (IS) of the resonance lines 4s²S_1/2–4p²P_Jin CaII (seven isotopes) have been measured by fast ion beam collinear laser spectroscopy (FIBCLS) with non-optical detection of the resonant laser-ion interaction. The electronic field shift factorF was derived from the experimental IS via a King plot procedure using the mean square nuclear charge radii from muon spectroscopy andelectron scattering. TheJ-independent resultF=–283(6) Mhz/fm² was obtained. TheF-value resulting from extensive many body perturbation theory (MBPT) calculations, recently performed by Märtensson-Pendrill et al., is in excellent agreement with the experimental value, confirming the reliability of the MBPT procedure.     

Observation of new laser transitions and saturation effects in optically pumped NO

We report investigations of an NO laser employing specially profiled magnetic fields of up to 3.4T, and F₂ pump laser intensities as great as 20 MW cm^–2. We have observed laser oscillation at 226 nm on a rotational branch of the B'-X/it(3–11) band of NO for the first time, in addition to the previously reported oscillation at 218 nm on the B'-X/it(3–10) band. We have also observed visible laser emission on a rotational branch of the B ²-B ² II(3–1) band of NO. Saturation of the NO laser pulse energy with pump intensity has been observed, the total NO laser pulse energy having been increased to 490 J. The possibility of increasing the NO laser pulse energy towards 1 mJ per transition is discussed.     

Isotopically selective CVD of silicon by IRMPD of Si2F6

The IRMPD of Si₂F₆ by a CO₂ TEA laser was applied to isotopically selective CVD of silicon. A white film, probably consisting of polymers of SiF₂, was deposited on a metal foil during the irradiation of natural Si₂F₆ with the laser radiation at 951.19 cm^–1 and about 1.5 J cm^–2. Upon heating, the film became dark brown, evolving SiF₄. The³⁰Si content was found to be as high as about 20%.     

Laser investigations at 269 nm for XeF(D-X) in Ne crystals

From line narrowing in amplified spontaneous emission at the D-X transition (269nm) of XeF in solid Ne a gain coefficient of 3.4 cm^–1 has been derived and ground-state losses of 2.8 cm^–1 have been determined by variation of the absorption length. A dielectric laser cavity has been optimized with the reflectivities R₁=100% and R₂=70% for 1 cm long crystals; laser action has been achieved.     

Xe2Cl fluorescence and absorption in self-sustained discharge XeCl lasers

Fluorescence at 490 nm from the triatomic excimer Xe₂Cl^* has been investigated to determine the 308 nm absorption due to this species in an x-ray preionized, self-sustained gas discharge XeCl laser. The dependence of Xe₂Cl^* density on laser intensity (at 308 nm), buffer gas and Xe and HCl partial pressures has been determined for discharges with a peak electrical power deposition of 2.5 GWl^–1. Xe₂Cl^* absorption is estimated to reach 0.6% cm^–1 under non-lasing conditions but decreases to a non-saturable 0.2% cm^–1 for intracavity laser intensity>1 MW cm^–2. XeCl^* and Xe₂Cl^* fluorescence intensities were found to be a similar for both helium and neon buffer gases but laser output was a factor of two greater with a neon buffer.     

Spectral–kinetic characteristics of the F2 laser transition

A theoretical model for the F₂(D–A) laser transitions is built. The model includes a scheme of the main laser transitions proposed. A value of the radiative lifetime of the upper laser level in the conventional kinetic models of the F₂ laser is proved to be underestimated by one order of magnitude. A general theory of steady-state light amplification in a molecular laser with non-equilibrium vibrational distribution is developed. Relations of the small-signal gain and the saturating energy flux with parameters of molecular electronic–vibrational kinetics are established. The theory is applied to explain properties of F₂ laser amplifiers. PACS 31.70.Hq; 42.55.Lt     

Inclusive production of φ-mesons in neutron-proton interaction at 30–70 GeV/c

A signal of the-K⁺K^– decays has been observed in neutron-hydrogen interactions at energies of 30–70 GeV in an experiment using the BIS-2 spectrometer. The longitudinal momentum spectrum in the forward region,x _F<0·1 atp _T<1 GeV/c, can be well described by a power law dependence (1–x _F)^N withN=4·28±0·42. Thep _T ² -spectrum has been parametrized by the exp(–Bp _T ² ) law with the exponentB=(3·02±0·55) (GeV/c)^–2. The extrapolation of the measured cross section to the full kinematic region yields a value of (220±85) b in agreement with measurements from the proton beams.     

Femtosecond-pulse laser ablation of human corneas

A femtosecond pulse laser in the visible spectral region shows promise as a potentially new powerful corneal sculpting tool. It combines the clinical and technical advantages of visible wavelengths with the high ablation quality observed with nanosecond-pulse excimer lasers at 193 nm. A femtosecond and a nanosecond dye laser with pulse durations of 300 fs and 7 ns, and centre wavelengths at 615 nm and 600 nm, respectively, both focused to an area of the order of 10^–5 cm², have been applied to human corneal ablation. Nanosecond laser pulses caused substantial tissue disruption within a 30–100 m range from the excision edge at all fluences above the ablation threshold of F _th60 J cm^–2 (I _th9 GW cm^–2). Completely different excisions are produced by the femtosecond-pulse laser: high quality ablations of the Bowman membrane and the stroma tissue characterised by damage zones of less than 0.5 m were observed at all fluences above ablation threshold of F _th1 J cm^–2 or I _th3 TW cm^–2 (3×10¹² W cm^–2). The transparent cornea material can be forced to absorb ultrashort pulses of extremely high intensity. The fs laser generates its own absorption by a multiphoton absorption process.     

Gain and saturation measurements in a discharge excited F2 laser using an oscillator amplifier configuration

The small-signal gain coefficient and the saturation intensity of a F₂ pulsed discharge molecular laser at 157 nm have been measured using two discharge devices in an oscillator-amplifier configuration. The small signal gain coefficient was measured to be 5.2±0.4% cm^–1 at 3 atm total pressure and 1.5 cm electrode spacing and 4.1±0.4% cm^–1 at 2 atm total pressure and 2 cm electrode spacing while the values of the saturation intensity were 5 MW/cm² and 4.6 MW/cm², respectively.     

Generation of picosecond pulses in solid-state lasers using new active media

Results are reported of investigations aimed at generating nanosecond radiation pulses in solid-state lasers using new active media having broad gain lines. Passive mode locking is accomplished for the first time in a BeLa:Nd³⁺ laser at a wavelength 1.354 m, and in a YAG:Nd³⁺ laser on a 1.32–m transition. The free lasing and mode-locking regimes were investigated in an alexandrite (BeAl²O₄:Cr³⁺) laser in the 0.72–0.78–m range and in a synchronously pumped laser on F 2- centers in LiF in the 1.12–1.24–m region. The features of nonlinear perception of IR radiation by the eye, using a developed picosecond laser on F₂ ^– centers, are investigated for the first time.Translated from Lazernye Sistemy, pp. 67–86, 1982.     

Efficient laser isotope separation of 13C using novel linear multi-pass cavity

¹³C isotope has been separated in the form of enriched product C₂F₄ by selective multi-photon dissociation (MPD) of Freon-22 (CHClF₂) using the 9P(26) laser line of a transversely excited atmospheric CO₂ laser. The non-linearity factor, γ, that determines the dependence of the yield of ¹³C isotope on the fluence (J/cm²) has been determined for various laser rotational lines (9P(20)–9P(26)) and the advantage of a lower γ in the case of 9P(26) is highlighted for macroscopic production of ¹³C isotope. It is also shown that a higher value of the optimum fluence at 9P(26) not only results in a higher enrichment efficiency but in a relatively lower value of γ also. The laser pulse energy is efficiently utilized for selective MPD of Freon-22 by focusing the pulse energy repeatedly with the help of a novel linear multi-pass cavity (LMPC). The novelty of this optical arrangement lies in its ability to maintain the laser fluence around an optimum value for a desired enrichment of ¹³C in the product. This also ensures a higher quantity of enriched product because of the higher reaction volume. The advantage of the LMPC over the conventionally used Herriott multi-pass cell has also been presented. The gain in reaction volume in the present optical cavity having 20 passes with a constant fluence in each pass is as high as 12. Isotope-selective MPD of Freon in a LMPC with constant fluence in each pass showed a distinct advantage in energy utilization to separate ¹³C isotope over the gradually reducing fluence case.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected cover date.