Abstract

The frequency stability of a cw, electrically initiated HF mixing laser was investigated using heterodyne and interferometric techniques. A stability corresponding to 1 part in 10⁸ was achieved over an observation time of 150 msec. The data indicated that improved performance would be achieved by increasing the mechanical stability in the optical system. Long-term stability was demonstrated by locking the laser output to the Lamb dip of the lasing transition. Based upon these experiments, the cw chemical laser shows potential as a stable frequency local oscillator for applications such as laser radar and communications.

© 1976 Optical Society of America

Line suppression and single line performance of a cw HF chemical laser

L. H. Sentman
Appl. Opt. 15(3) 744-747 (1976)

Frequency stabilization and tunability of lasers; use of mobile dips and peaks

A. Le Floch, R. Le Naour, G. Stephan, and P. Brun
Appl. Opt. 15(11) 2673-2677 (1976)

Transverse-Flow Quasi-cw HF Chemical Laser: Design and Preliminary Performance

J. M. Gagne, S. Q. Mah, and Y. Conturie
Appl. Opt. 13(12) 2835-2839 (1974)

Saturation of anomalous dispersion in cw HF lasers

P. W. Milonni
Appl. Opt. 20(9) 1571-1578 (1981)

Chain reaction pulsed HF laser: a simple model

R. L. Kerber and J. S. Whittier
Appl. Opt. 15(10) 2358-2366 (1976)