Abstract

A decade ago the difficulties in realizing a gamma-ray laser were considered almost insurmountable. However, in 1982 we began to emphasize an interdisciplinary concept of upconversion which ultimately launched a renaissance in the field.¹ The essential concept was the “optical” pumping of nuclei. In this case optical meant x rays, but the fundamentals were the same. Useful, resonant absorption of pump power would occur over short distances to produce high concentrations of excited nuclei while wasted wavelengths would be degraded to heat in much large volumes. Of all the cases considered, the nuclear analog of the ruby laser embodied the simplest concepts for a gamma-ray laser. Not surprisingly, the greatest rate of achievement has been realized in that direction.

© 1994 Optical Society of America