Review of short wavelength laser research

A review of the status of research towards achieving lasing action in the vacuum ultraviolet and soft X-ray spectral regions is presented. An analysis of the general problems likely to be encountered is accompanied by numerical results for those approaches currently considered promising. Progress on each approach is detailed and various possible methods of verifying the presence of gain with their relative merits are discussed. Research areas requiring Application of short-wavelength lasers also are given.

[1]  A. Ali,et al.  HYDROGEN MOLECULAR VACUUM ULTRAVIOLET LASER THEORY , 1968 .

[2]  N. Peacock,et al.  Population inversion in laser-produced plasmas by pumping with opacity- broadened lines , 1975 .

[3]  Y. Katsuyama,et al.  Laser Oscillation of OV in Z-Pinch Discharge , 1973 .

[4]  G. G. Stokes.  "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.

[5]  A. Baez,et al.  Fresnel Zone Plate for Optical Image Formation Using Extreme Ultraviolet and Soft X Radiation , 1961 .

[6]  L. Presnyakov,et al.  POSSIBILITY OF PRODUCING INVERTED POPULATION IN ATOMIC BEAMS BY CHARGE EXCHANGE OF PROTONS WITH ATOMS. , 1971 .

[7]  R. Elton.  Intercombination Line Oscillator Strengths in the Helium Isoelectronic Sequence , 1967 .

[8]  R. Sudan,et al.  Generation of intense pulsed ion beams , 1974 .

[9]  G. Fournier.  A model for electron-beam excited VUV fluorescence from xenon , 1975 .

[10]  H. Kogelnik,et al.  STIMULATED EMISSION IN A PERIODIC STRUCTURE , 1971 .

[11]  L. Wood,et al.  Towards gamma-ray lasers , 1974, Nature.

[12]  R. Elton,et al.  X radiation from optical and inner-shell transitions in a highly ionized dense plasma , 1971 .

[13]  L. Allen,et al.  Amplified spontaneous emission I. The threshold condition , 1971 .

[14]  P. J. Ebert,et al.  Vacuum-ultraviolet emission from high-pressure xenon and argon excited by high-current relativistic electron beams , 1974 .

[15]  N. Basov,et al.  Luminescence of condensed Xe, Kr, Ar and their mixtures in vacuum region of spectrum under excitation by fast electrons , 1970 .

[16]  G. K. Walters,et al.  Production mechanisms and radiative lifetimes of argon and xenon molecules emitting in the ultraviolet , 1974 .

[17]  S. Harris,et al.  Proposed Third‐Harmonic Generation in Phase‐Matched Metal Vapors , 1971 .

[18]  S. Mccall,et al.  X-Ray Parametric Conversion , 1971 .

[19]  B. Lax,et al.  Quantitative aspects of a soft x‐ray laser , 1972 .

[20]  J. Shipman.  TRAVELING WAVE EXCITATION OF HIGH POWER GAS LASERS , 1967 .

[21]  Generation of tunable picosecond VUV radiation , 1974 .

[22]  H. Summers.  The ionization equilibrium of hydrogen-like to argon-like ions of elements. , 1974 .

[23]  F. Hopf.  Statistical changes in amplified thermal light , 1974 .

[24]  H. Summers,et al.  The Effects of Electron and Radiation Density on Dielectronic Recombination , 1969 .

[25]  S. Harris,et al.  Third harmonic generation in phase‐matched alkali metal vapors , 1975 .

[26]  V. Letokhov,et al.  Excitation of far vacuum UV lasers by fast heating of plasma electrons in ultrashort pulsed optical fields , 1971 .

[27]  S. Harris,et al.  Nonlinear Optical Processes by Van der Waals Interaction during Collision , 1974 .

[28]  S. Stenholm,et al.  Semiclassical theory of a high-intensity laser. , 1969 .

[29]  Anthony J. Demaria,et al.  Picosecond Laser Pulses , 1969, Other Conferences.

[30]  L. Wood,et al.  X-Ray Lasers. , 1975 .

[31]  H. A. Koehler,et al.  Stimulated VUV emission in high‐pressure xenon excited by high‐current relativistic electron beams , 1972 .

[32]  W. Jones,et al.  Theory of short-wavelength lasers from recombining plasmas , 1975 .

[33]  L. Wood,et al.  Conditions for x-ray laser action , 1974 .

[34]  M. Bhaumik,et al.  Xenon molecular laser in the vacuum ultraviolet , 1973 .

[35]  A. M. Malvezzi,et al.  Threshold evaluations for an x-ray laser , 1974 .

[36]  H. Griem,et al.  Measurement of collisional rate coefficients for heliumlike carbon ions in a plasma. , 1968 .

[37]  L. W. Coleman,et al.  Picosecond x‐ray streak camera , 1974 .

[38]  H. Mahr,et al.  Use of metastable ions for a soft X-ray laser , 1974 .

[39]  P. Hoff,et al.  Observations of stimulated emission from high‐pressure krypton and argon/xenon mixtures , 1973 .

[40]  R. Dicke.  Coherence in Spontaneous Radiation Processes , 1954 .

[41]  N. Bloembergen,et al.  Interactions between light waves in a nonlinear dielectric , 1962 .

[42]  J. Gerardo,et al.  High-pressure xenon laser at 1730 Å , 1973 .

[43]  J. Ward,et al.  Optical Third Harmonic Generation in Gases by a Focused Laser Beam , 1969 .

[44]  O. M. Kerimov,et al.  Electro-Ionization Lasers, , 1974 .

[45]  B. L. Borovich,et al.  Pressure-induced ultraviolet absorption in rare gases: Absorption coefficients for mixtures of Xe and Ar at pressures up to 40 atm in the vicinity of 147 nm , 1973 .

[46]  Yurii M Popov,et al.  Stimulated emission in the vacuum ultraviolet region , 1971 .

[47]  F. Mies.  Stimulated emission and population inversion in diatomic bound-continuum transitions , 1973 .

[48]  R. Hodgson,et al.  Molecular-hydrogen laser: 1098-1613 °A , 1974 .

[49]  S. Harris,et al.  Resonantly two-photon pumped frequency converter , 1974 .

[50]  M. Duguay,et al.  PROPOSED RESONATOR FOR AN X‐RAY LASER , 1967 .

[51]  R. Elton.  Extension of 3p ? 3s ion lasers into the vacuum ultraviolet region. , 1975, Applied optics.

[52]  R. Waynant.  OBSERVATIONS OF GAIN BY STIMULATED EMISSION IN THE WERNER BAND OF MOLECULAR HYDROGEN. , 1972 .

[53]  C. Rhodes,et al.  Demonstration of temporal coherence, spatial coherence, and threshold effects in the molecular xenon laser , 1973 .

[54]  A. Vinogradov,et al.  Possibility of constructing a far-ultraviolet laser utilizing transitions in multiply charged ions in an inhomogeneous plasma , 1975 .

[55]  C. Bhalla,et al.  Nonrelativistic Auger Rates, X-Ray Rates, and Fluorescence Yields for the 2p Shell , 1971 .

[56]  L. Allen,et al.  Superradiance, coherence brightening and amplified spontaneous emission , 1970 .

[57]  A. Ali,et al.  H(2) lyman and werner bands laser theory. , 1972, Applied optics.

[58]  Donald A. Leonard,et al.  Saturation of the molecular nitrogen second positive laser transition , 1965 .

[59]  R. Waynant,et al.  Experimental Observations and Calculated Band Strengths for the D2 Lyman Band Laser , 1971 .

[60]  Peter M. Rentzepis,et al.  SOME APPROACHES TO VACUUM UV AND X‐RAY LASERS , 1967 .

[61]  L. Allen,et al.  Amplified spontaneous emission III. Intensity and saturation , 1971 .

[62]  J. Armstrong,et al.  Autoionizing States of Sr Studied by the Generation of Tunable Vacuum uv Radiation , 1974 .

[63]  L. Allen,et al.  Amplified spontaneous emission. IV. Beam divergence and spatial coherence , 1972 .

[64]  C. A. Massone,et al.  On the inversion mechanism of the molecular hydrogen vacuum ultraviolet laser , 1974 .

[65]  Lorents Dc.  A model of rare-gas excimer formation and decay and its application to vuv lasers. , 1974 .

[66]  E. Zamir,et al.  Temporal evolution of the electron density in high‐pressure electron‐beam‐excited xenon plasmas , 1975 .

[67]  Laser Operation at 3.39 μ in a Helium–Neon Mixture , 1963 .

[68]  M. Scully,et al.  Analysis of a soft-x-ray laser with charge-exchange excitation , 1975 .

[69]  Ivan P. Kaminow,et al.  POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE) DYE LASER WITH INTERNAL DIFFRACTION GRATING RESONATOR , 1971 .

[70]  R. Waynant,et al.  VACUUM ULTRAVIOLET LASER EMISSION FROM MOLECULAR HYDROGEN , 1970 .

[71]  V. Rozanov,et al.  BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS: Possibility of using metastable heliumlike ions in generation of ultrasoft x-ray stimulated radiation , 1975 .

[72]  Edward T. Gerry,et al.  PULSED‐MOLECULAR‐NITROGEN LASER THEORY , 1965 .

[73]  R. Hodgson,et al.  Electron-beam excitation of vacuum ultraviolet hydrogen laser , 1972 .

[74]  M. Scully,et al.  Coherence brightening and laser lethargy in X-ray laser amplifiers , 1975 .

[75]  E. George,et al.  Kinetic model of ultraviolet inversions in high‐pressure rare‐gas plasmas , 1973 .

[76]  S. Harris,et al.  Infrared up‐conversion with resonantly two‐photon pumped metal vapors , 1974 .

[77]  R. Sudan,et al.  Generation of Intense Ion Beams in Pulsed Diodes , 1973 .

[78]  A. Molchanov.  From the Current Literature: Lasers in the Vacuum Ultraviolet and in the X-Ray Regions of the Spectrum , 1972 .

[79]  G. J. Pert,et al.  Population inversion in plasmas produced by picosecond laser pulses , 1974 .

[80]  Theoretical model explaining some aspects of the utah x-ray laser experiments. , 1974, Applied optics.

[81]  W. Huebner,et al.  Fits to new calculations of photoionization cross sections for low-Z elements , 1972 .

[82]  A. Burgess.  Delectronic Recombination and the Temperature of the Solar Corona. , 1964 .

[83]  John E. Bjorkholm,et al.  TUNABLE DISTRIBUTED‐FEEDBACK DYE LASER , 1971 .

[84]  J. Soures,et al.  High-intensity x-ray spectra and stimulated emission from laser plasmas☆ , 1972 .

[85]  S. Harris,et al.  Generation of 1182‐Å radiation in phase‐matched mixtures of inert gases , 1973 .

[86]  H. Fleischmann.  High‐current electron beams , 1975 .

[87]  J. F. Young,et al.  Vacuum ultraviolet holography , 1974 .

[88]  C. Rhodes.  Review of ultraviolet laser physics , 1974 .

[89]  A. Schawlow,et al.  Infrared and optical masers , 1958 .

[90]  R. Deslattes.  X‐RAY MONOCHROMATORS AND RESONATORS FROM SINGLE CRYSTALS , 1968 .

[91]  J. Peyraud,et al.  Population Inversion in Laser Plasmas , 1972 .

[92]  D. Scifres,et al.  Distributed‐feedback single heterojunction GaAs diode laser , 1974 .

[93]  E. Spiller,et al.  Propagation of x rays in waveguides , 1974 .

[94]  Richard H. Milburn,et al.  ELECTRON SCATTERING BY AN INTENSE POLARIZED PHOTON FIELD , 1963 .

[95]  B. I. Miller,et al.  Double‐heterostructure GaAs distributed‐feedback laser , 1974 .

[96]  L. Presnyakov,et al.  ARTICLES: Charge exchange between multiply charged ions and atoms , 1975 .

[97]  J. Jortner,et al.  Exciton-Enhanced Photoemission from Doped Solid Rare Gases , 1974 .

[98]  F. Irons,et al.  Experimental evidence for population inversion in C5+ in an expanding laser-produced plasma , 1974 .

[99]  H. Zwally,et al.  Single-electron capture by C/4 plus/ in helium, neon, and argon below 40 keV , 1970 .

[100]  R. Hodgson.  Vacuum‐Ultraviolet Lasing Action Observed in CO: 1800–2000 Å , 1971 .

[101]  S. Metz.  Enhanced light emission from a pulsed discharge in hydrogen , 1971 .

[102]  Ii O.R. Wood.  High-pressure pulsed molecular lasers , 1974 .

[103]  G. Jamelot,et al.  Autoionizing series in the Al3+ ion spectrum of a laser-produced plasma , 1972 .

[104]  G. Evans,et al.  Proposed distributed feedback crystal cavities for x-ray lasers. , 1975, Applied optics.

[105]  S. Mccall,et al.  Mixing of X-Ray and Optical Photons , 1971 .

[106]  D. Emmons.  Xenon photo-absorption in the vacuum ultraviolet☆ , 1974 .

[107]  A. Gabriel,et al.  Measurement and interpretation of dielectronic recombination satellite line intensities , 1972 .

[108]  W. Yen,et al.  Optical image formation with a Fresnel zone plate using vacuum-ultraviolet radiation* , 1973 .

[109]  L. Allen,et al.  Amplified spontaneous emission. II. The connection with laser theory , 1971 .

[110]  P. Bey,et al.  Generation of a Phase-Matched Optical Third Harmonic by Introduction of Anomalous Dispersion into a Liquid Medium , 1967 .

[111]  V. Letokhov,et al.  Efficient and practical hydrogen vacuum ultraviolet laser , 1975 .

[112]  A. Yariv,et al.  Super Radiant Narrowing in Fluorescence Radiation of Inverted Populations , 1963 .

[113]  J. F. Young,et al.  Third-harmonic generation in phase-matched Rb vapor. , 1971 .

[114]  H. Kogelnik,et al.  Coupled‐Wave Theory of Distributed Feedback Lasers , 1972 .

[115]  R. Miles,et al.  Optical third-harmonic generation in alkali metal vapors , 1973 .

[116]  J. Murray,et al.  Laser oscillation on the green bands of XeO and KrO , 1974 .

[117]  N. G. Basov,et al.  Laser Operating in the Vacuum Region of the Spectrum by Excitation of Liquid Xenon with an Electron Beam , 1970 .

[118]  L. Allen.  Amplified Spontaneous Emission , 1973 .

[119]  R. Tousey.  The Extreme Ultraviolet–Past and Future , 1962 .

[120]  B. Niemann,et al.  Soft X-ray imaging zone plates with large zone numbers for microscopic and spectroscopic applications , 1974 .

[121]  S. Harris.  Generation of Vacuum-Ultraviolet and Soft—X-Ray Radiation Using High-Order Nonlinear Optical Polarizabilities , 1973 .

[122]  P. W. Smith,et al.  Mode-locking of lasers, , 1974 .

[123]  R. Hodgson,et al.  Tunable coherent vacuum-ultraviolet generation in atomic vapors , 1974 .

[124]  G. Baldwin,et al.  Prospects for a gamma‐ray laser , 1975 .

[125]  K. Koshelev,et al.  Inverse population of levels of multiply charged ions , 1975 .

[126]  Tong-Nyong Lee.  HIGH‐DENSITY IONIZATION WITH AN INTENSE LINEAR FOCUS DISCHARGE , 1975 .

[127]  R. Hodgson,et al.  Excitation of vacuum ultraviolet emission from high‐pressure xenon by relativistic electron beams , 1973 .

[128]  J. P. Neissel,et al.  Induced gamma-ray emission , 1963 .

[129]  R. Dreyfus,et al.  Aluminum mirror degradation in a vuv laser , 1973 .

[130]  R. Waynant.  Vacuum ultraviolet laser emission from C IV , 1973 .

[131]  R. Elton,et al.  MEASURED COLLISIONAL EXCITATION RATE COEFFICIENTS FOR OXYGEN VII. , 1967 .

[132]  O. Wood,et al.  Population inversions and the measurement of gain in laser-produced plasmas , 1975 .

[133]  W. Lamb.  Theory of an optical maser , 1964 .

[134]  S. Harris,et al.  Mixed metal vapor phase matching for third-harmonic generation , 1975 .

[135]  I. Freund.  Optically stimulated x‐ray laser , 1974 .

[136]  Possibility of a distributed‐feedback x‐ray laser , 1974 .

[137]  K. D. Gupta.  Non-linear increase in Bragg peak and narrowing of X-ray lines , 1973 .

[138]  R. Waynant.  A transverse traveling-wave electron beam pump for short wavelength lasers , 1973 .

[139]  P. V. Lenzo,et al.  High-speed low-power x-ray lithography , 1974 .

[140]  Amnon Yariv,et al.  Pulse Propagation in a High-Gain Medium , 1971 .

[141]  F. R. Arutyunian,et al.  THE COMPTON EFFECT ON RELATIVISTIC ELECTRONS AND THE POSSIBILITY OF OBTAINING HIGH ENERGY BEAMS , 1963 .

[142]  R. Hodgson.  Vacuum-ultraviolet laser action observed in the Lyman bands of molecular hydrogen , 1970 .

[143]  W. Lichten.  Molecular Wave Functions and Inelastic Atomic Collisions , 1967 .

[144]  G. Bjorklund,et al.  Effects of focusing on third-order nonlinear processes in isotropic media. [laser beam interactions , 1975 .

[145]  A. Burgess.  A General Formula for the Estimation of Dielectronic Recombination Co-Efficients in Low-Density Plasmas. , 1965 .

[146]  A. Yariv.  Analytical considerations of Bragg coupling coefficients and distributed‐feedback x‐ray lasers in single crystals , 1974 .

[147]  R. Waynant,et al.  Laser emission in the vacuum ultraviolet from molecular hydrogen , 1971 .

[148]  L. Allen,et al.  Amplified Spontaneous Emission and External Signal Amplification in an Inverted Medium , 1973 .

[149]  G. Elwert,et al.  On Dielectronic Recombination , 1970 .

[150]  C. V. Heer.  Broadband Gain with Naturally Inverted Stable to Continuum Molecular Transitions , 1970 .

[151]  D. Bradley,et al.  Megawatt VUV xenon laser employing coaxial electron-beam excitation , 1974 .

[152]  Picosecond optical sampling oscilloscope , 1973 .

[153]  J. F. Young,et al.  Generation of Vacuum Ultraviolet Radiation in Phase-Matched Cd Vapor , 1972 .