BROADLY TUNABLE IR WAVEGUIDE RAMAN LASER PUMPED BY A DYE-LASER

Design and performance characteristics of a tunable ir waveguide Raman laser pumped by a high power dye laser are described. Using SRS up to third Stokes order in compressed H2, the wavelength range from 0.7 to 7 μm has been covered without gaps. Taking advantage of a waveguide structure in the scattering chamber, energy conversion efficiencies better than 1% with power levels in excess of 80 kW for the third Stokes component have been achieved. The experimental results support the theoretical predictions that a 4-wave parametric process is responsible for the production of the third Stokes component. © 1979 Springer-Verlag.