Abstract
We have used the Stark-cell stabilization technique to control and tune a CO2 laser employed to pump a CH2F2 submillimeter wave laser at 214 μm. The selected Stark resonances are the 423 ← 524, ΔM = −1 transitions of the ν9 vibrational band of CH2F2. With a cell length of 255 mm, an electrode spacing of 389.6 μm, and a gas pressure of 250 mTorr, we achieve on the 9R34 CO2 line a frequency stability of ±1 MHz over a usable 60-MHz tuning range. On the M = 1 → 2 transition, we observe a tuning rate of 2.7 MHz mm/V in good agreement with the calculated value from known spectroscopic constants. The technique is fairly general and can be applied with the same Stark gas to several other CO2 pumping lines.
© 1986 Optical Society of America
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