Abstract
An intracavity-etalon-tuned TE CO2 laser has been constructed using of a Ge etalon of 5mm thickness with a surface reflection of 36%. Frequency tenability and spectral narrowing were examined with an external scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer. When the tilt angle of the etalon was varied so that the resonance frequency shifted across the line center, the observed frequency shifts were approximately one half the calculated values owing to the low finesse of the solid etalon used.
A spectral width as narrow as 1 GHz (FWHM) was attained when the TE CO2 laser was operated at a total pressure of 300 Torr. Thermal effects in the etalon are also described.
The TE CO2 laser has been utilized to pump NH3, CH30H and HCOOH far infrared lasers. From the observed frequency shifts of the far infrared lines, it was deduced that Raman scattering was involved.
