An optical scheme for enhancing the performance of the F₂ (157 nm) laser; a possible F₂ two-photon femtosecond pulse generator

Abstract

We have very recently begun to experimentally test a simple scheme for enhancing the efficiency of a pulsed F2 laser that our group proposed several years ago. This scheme involves the use of a pulsed nanosecond-time-scale infrared laser to deplete the terminal state of an F2 (157 nm) laser in order to enhance its performance. If the scheme should prove to be workable, this would imply that a cw two-photon UV femtosecond pulse generator might be constructed on the basis of F2 transitions.