Gamma Ray Laser Pump Diagnostic
Abstract
The nuclear analog of the ruby laser would embody the most straightforward of the several concepts for a gamma ray laser. The greatest progress toward an ultrashort wavelength laser has been achieved along that direction 2. For ruby the identification and exploitation of a bandwidth funnel were the critical keys in the development of the first laser. There was a broad absorption band linked through efficient cascading to the narrow laser level. The search for the analogous situation on the nuclear scale is proceeding quite fruitfully. Significant amounts of nuclear fluorescence have been pumped by pulsed bremsstrahlung sources; thus proving that the concept of bandwidth funneling works as well at the nuclear level as it does for the ruby3. This critical process was found to produce eleven orders of magnitude increase in the amount of X-ray pump energy absorbed into demonstration nuclei of Se 77. Most recently, the first of the 29 candidate materials for a gamma ray laser was successfully pumped with intense pulses of bremsstrahlung. The yield of nuclear fluorescence was about 10,000 times greater than what was predicted by even the theories including the large factor for funneling 4. Selected over 28 alternatives solely on the basis of availability, this first material narrowly missed the threshold of feasibility for gamma ray laser. These results with a relatively unattractive candidate indicate that the probabilities should be raised for full success of one of the other 28 materials.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 18, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA205221
Entities
People
- Colm B. Collins