Optically pumped atomic iodine laser

Claim 1

A laser pumped atomic laser for emitting coherent radiation whose wavelength is independent of the wavelength of the laser employed to pump said atomic laser over the range of 493-501 nm, said atomic laser comprising: a sealed cell means forming a lasing cavity, said lasing cavity containing a nondegradable active gaseous medium that is substantially composed of diatomic molecules of a single chemical element, capable of being pumped to a lasing state repeatedly, by photodissociation of the diatomic molecules into atoms, said sealed cell having Brewster's-angle end windows at opposite ends thereof, laser pump means for generating a beam of coherent radiation that pumps the gaseous medium in said lasing cavity to a lasing condition, said laser pump means being positioned adjacent said sealed cell means and oriented such that the optical axes of said laser pump means and said lasing cavity coincide, and the beam from said laser pump means enters said lasing cavity through one of the end windows to pump the gaseous medium and cause a population inversion therein, and two mirrors mounted in a substantially confocal configuration on the optical axis of said lasing cavity to form an optical cavity for said laser to extract a beam of coherent radiation from the lasing mixture in said lasing cavity, the first one of said two mirrors being positioned between said laser pump means and said sealed cell such that the beam from said laser pump means passes therethrough into the lasing cavity, the second one of said two mirrors being positioned on the side of said sealed cell away from said laser pump means, said two mirrors transmitting the beam from said laser pump means but reflecting substantially all radiation emitted by the gaseous medium in the lasing cavity.