A Continuous Wave Atomic Bromine Laser Produced by Photolysis of Iodine Monobromide

An apparatus to generate continuous wave (CW) lasing at 2.714 mm by Br(2P1/2) atoms produced from photodissociation of IBr was designed, constructed and tested. A frequency doubled Nd:YAG laser firing 8 ns, 850 mJ pulses at 532 nm was used to photodissociate static IBr vapor inside a flow nozzle. The CaF2 windows on either side of the nozzle proved to have a damage threshold below the threshold for lasing. Pulsed lasing in static mode was not observed. Therefore, CW lasing in flow mode, using an Ar+ laser at 488 nm, could not be investigated.