A Hydrogen Fluoride/Deuterium Fluoride Laser at the Naval Postgraduate School.

A small scale hydrogen fluoride HF or deuterium fluoride DF laser was constructed for the Atmospheric Optical Propagation Program at the Naval Postgraduate School. The laser, with almost forty individually selectable wavelengths between 2.5 and 4.1 micrometers, will prove to be a valuable instrument for the continued studies of laser propagation. In the HF mode, a multiline power out of seven watts was acheived with a confocal cavity arrangement. In the single-line HF mode, fifteen separate wavelengths were distinguished. Three watts of multiline power was achieved in the DF mode while eighteen separate single-line wavelengths were obtained including 160 milliwatts at 3.8007 micrometers, the P28 transition. This wavelength is of particular interest to the Navy because of its excellent propagation characteristics in the marine boundary layer. Author