US4414671A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Collision laser
Assignee: Miami University
•
Filing: 1981-10-05
•
Granted: 1983-11-08
•
Expires: 2001-10-05
Abstract
Abstract Electromagnetic radiation (10) is provided in a gas mixture (12) including helium in the X(1) state and nitrogen in the Y(1) state. The helium is pumped to excite a high population density of its atoms from the X(1) state to the X(2) state; and photons (15) of suitable frequency are injected into the mixture (12) to excite, via a three-body radiative collision of an atom of X(2) with a molecule of Y(1) and a photon (15): a high population density of molecules of the nitrogen from the Y(1) state to the Y(3) state, followed by a substantially simultaneous return of a substantial portion of the excited helium atoms to the X(1) state and a substantial depopulation of the Y(3) state of the nitrogen, causing the molecules thereof to drop to the lower energy Y(2) state, thereby stimulating the emission from the nitrogen of two photons (10) at the same wavelength for each absorbed photon (15), and thus providing a total quantity of photon emission (10) with sufficient gain for amplification of electromagnetic radiation (10), and finally resulting in the depopulation of the molecules in the Y(2) state by autoionization.
Inventors
- 👤 William E. Wells, Jr.
- 👤 S. Douglas Marcum
- 👤 Lawrence W. Downes
- 👤 Richard A. Tilton
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-26 09:46
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01S; H01S3/00; H01S3/14; H01S3/22; H01S3/223; H01S3/09; H01S3/097; H01S3/09707
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim
204 words
Apparatus for providing stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation, comprising means for containing a mixture including a first gas, in the X(1) state, and a second gas, in the Y(1) state; means for pumping the first gas to excite a high population density of its atoms or molecules from the X(1) state to the X(2) state; and means for injecting photons of suitable frequency into the mixture, to excite, via a three-body radiative collision of an atom or a molecule of X(2) with a molecule of Y(1) and a photon, a high population density of molecules of the second gas from the Y(1) state to the Y(3) state, followed by a substantially simultaneous return of a substantial portion of the excited first gas atoms or molecules to the X(1) state and a substantial depopulation of the Y(3) state of the second gas, causing the molecules thereof to drop to the lower energy Y(2) state, thereby stimulating the emission from the second gas of two photons at the same wavelength for each absorbed photon, and thus providing a total quantity of photon emission with sufficient gain for amplification of electromagnetic radiation, and finally resulting in the depopulation of the molecules in the Y(2) state by autoionization.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
204 words
Apparatus for providing stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation, comprising means for containing a mixture including a first gas, in the X(1) state, and a second gas, in the Y(1) state; means for pumping the first gas to excite a high population density of its atoms or molecules from the X(1) state to the X(2) state; and means for injecting photons of suitable frequency into the mixture, to excite, via a three-body radiative collision of an atom or a molecule of X(2) with a molecule of Y(1) and a photon, a high population density of molecules of the second gas from the Y(1) state to the Y(3) state, followed by a substantially simultaneous return of a substantial portion of the excited first gas atoms or molecules to the X(1) state and a substantial depopulation of the Y(3) state of the second gas, causing the molecules thereof to drop to the lower energy Y(2) state, thereby stimulating the emission from the second gas of two photons at the same wavelength for each absorbed photon, and thus providing a total quantity of photon emission with sufficient gain for amplification of electromagnetic radiation, and finally resulting in the depopulation of the molecules in the Y(2) state by autoionization.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the pumping means comprises external means for bringing the first gas from the X(1) state to an excited metastable state X(2).
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
17 words
Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the external means comprises means for bombarding the gas with electrons.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
30 words
Apparatus as in claim 3, wherein the bombarding means comprises external means for generating an electron beam and directing the beam through a thin foil window to strike the mixture.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
48 words
Apparatus as in claim 3, wherein the bombarding means comprises means for directing neutrons to strike fissionable material to produce energetic fission product particles to strike and thereby ionize a portion of the mixture and thus to produce electrons that bombard X(1) atoms or molecules in the mixture.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
Apparatus as in claim 2, wherein the external means comprises electric discharge, radiation, thermal, or chemical means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the photon injecting means comprises an external source of radiation at a frequency substantially resonant with one of the transition frequencies of the second gas.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
12 words
Apparatus as in claim 7, wherein the external source is a laser.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
25 words
Apparatus as in claim 7, wherein the external source is a tunable dye laser of power sufficient to produce a high density of three-body collisions.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
17 words
Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the first gas is helium and the second gas is nitrogen.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the containing means comprises a resonant optical cavity for injecting some of the emitted photons back into the mixture to provide self-sustained oscillation.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
199 words
A method of providing stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in a mixture including a first gas, in the X(1) state, and a second gas, in the Y(1) state, comprising pumping the first gas to excite a high population density of its atoms or molecules from the X(1) state to the X(2) state; and injecting photons of suitable frequency into the mixture, to excite, via a three-body radiative collision of an atom or a molecule of X(2) with a molecule of Y(1) and a photon, a high population density of molecules of the second gas from the Y(1) state to the Y(3) state, followed by a substantially simultaneous return of a substantial portion of the excited first gas atoms or molecules to the X(1) state and a substantial depopulation of the Y(3) state of the second gas, causing the molecules thereof to drop to the lower energy Y(2) state, thereby stimulating the emission from the second gas of two photons at the same wavelength for each absorbed photon, and thus providing a total quantity of photon emission with sufficient gain for amplification of electromagnetic radiation, and finally resulting in the depopulation of the molecules in the Y(2) state by autoionization.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
199 words
A method of providing stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation in a mixture including a first gas, in the X(1) state, and a second gas, in the Y(1) state, comprising pumping the first gas to excite a high population density of its atoms or molecules from the X(1) state to the X(2) state; and injecting photons of suitable frequency into the mixture, to excite, via a three-body radiative collision of an atom or a molecule of X(2) with a molecule of Y(1) and a photon, a high population density of molecules of the second gas from the Y(1) state to the Y(3) state, followed by a substantially simultaneous return of a substantial portion of the excited first gas atoms or molecules to the X(1) state and a substantial depopulation of the Y(3) state of the second gas, causing the molecules thereof to drop to the lower energy Y(2) state, thereby stimulating the emission from the second gas of two photons at the same wavelength for each absorbed photon, and thus providing a total quantity of photon emission with sufficient gain for amplification of electromagnetic radiation, and finally resulting in the depopulation of the molecules in the Y(2) state by autoionization.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
39 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the first gas comprises metastable atoms or molecules and the second gas comprises molecules with an ionization potential less than the excitation energy of the atoms or molecules of the first gas.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the first gas is brought from the X(1) state to an excited metastable state X(2) by external pumping.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
13 words
A method as in claim 14, wherein the pumping comprises bombardment by electrons.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as in claim 14, wherein the X(1) state is the ground state.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
12 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the first gas is helium.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as in claim 17, wherein the X(1) state is He(1 1 s).
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as in claim 18, wherein the X(2) state is He(2 3 s).
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the photons are injected from an external source of radiation at a frequency substantially resonant with one of the transition frequencies of the second gas.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as in claim 20, wherein the external photon source is a laser.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method as in claim 20, wherein the external photon source is a tunable dye laser of power sufficient to produce a high density of three-body collisions.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
12 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the second gas is nitrogen.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as in claim 23, wherein the Y(1) state is N 2 (X).
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method as in claim 24, wherein the Y(2) state is N 2 * (X, ν=3), where * denotes excitation to a Rydberg state near the ionization limit.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as in claim 25, wherein the Y(3) state is N 2 * (B, ν=4).
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
14 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the first gas comprises a noble gas.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
23 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the second gas comprises nitrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitric oxide, uranium hexafluoride, or heptafluoroiodopropane.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the first gas is helium, neon, argon, or nitrogen.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
67 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein the gain varies directly with the product of the population density of the atoms or molecules in the X(2) state multiplied by the population density of the molecules in the Y(1) state minus the product of the population density of the atoms or molecules in the X(1) state multiplied by the population density of the molecules in the Y(2) state.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
98 words
A method as in claim 30, wherein the depopulation of the molecules in the Y(2) state to lower nonresonant levels by autoionization is rapid and substantially complete, so that the product of the population density of the atoms or molecules in the X(1) state multiplied by the population density of the molecules in the Y(2) state is negligible, (because [Y(2)] is approximately zero), and thus the gain is substantially proportional to the product of the population density of the atoms or molecules in the X(2) state multiplied by the population density of the molecules in the Y(1) state.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
20 words
A method as in claim 31, wherein the autoionization is substantially complete in a time less than the radiative lifetime.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method as in claim 12, wherein some of the emitted photons are injected back into the mixture in a resonant optical cavity to provide self-sustained oscillation.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4091336A
Cited
US4110703A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1986-11-07 | 1987-05-09 | 1987-11-08 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1990-11-07 | 1991-05-09 | 1991-11-08 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1994-11-07 | 1995-05-09 | 1995-11-08 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |