Mechanism of a CO–N2 laser. I. Study of the vibrational populations

Abstract

A laser operating on the vibrational–rotational levels of CO populated by active nitrogen has been built and studied by infrared spectroscopy. The operational characteristics and the importance of the nature of the walls and their condition are discussed. The population of each vibrational laser level has been deduced from the gain measurement of each laser line. The mechanism of the population inversion is described in terms of the theory proposed by Treanor, Rich, and Rehm, assuming that the population of CO vibrational levels is ensured by a vibration–vibration transfer from vibrationally excited nitrogen molecules.