Optical resonance pumped transfer laser with high multiline photon-to-single-line photon conversion efficiency

Claim 1

A laser comprising: a first volume of a first gas including diatomic molecules having first laser transitions between different vibrational energy levels; a first optical resonator disposed about said first volume of said first gas along a first axis through said first volume of said first gas and tuned to selected ones of said first laser transitions; a second volume of gas disposed within said first optical resonator in optical communication with and separated from said first volume of said first gas, said second volume of gas including a mixture of said first gas and a second gas including polyatomic molecules containing at least three atoms, said polyatomic molecules having second laser transitions from upper energy levels near the upper energy levels of said selected ones of said first laser transitions; a second optical resonator disposed about said second volume of gas along a second axis through said second volume of gas and tuned to a selected one of said second laser transitions, said second axis being oriented in a predetermined angular relationship relative to said first axis, said second optical resonator including means for abstracting laser energy therefrom; and means for exciting said diatomic molecules of said first volume of said first gas to a condition of population inversion between the upper and lower energy levels of said selected ones of said first laser transitions to produce multiline laser oscillation in said first optical resonator, the energy from which is absorbed by said diatomic molecules of said first gas in said second volume of gas and collisionally transferred to said polyatomic molecules to produce population inversion between the upper and lower energy levels of said second laser transitions, whereby single-line laser oscillation is obtained in said second optical resonator on said selected one of said second laser transitions.