589nm amplifier possibility?

[Ragnarok]

A technical curiosity question for the laser techs/brains here. Could a sodium-vapor discharge tube be used to amplify/add energy to a beam from a 589nm laser?

R.

[-bart-]

I don't consider myself a tech/brainer, but I'll give it a shot.

But I don't think population inversion is possible because of the 3 or 4 energy states required for this.
Surely one could 'pump' sodium vapor but it would never lead to stimulated emission.

[mixedgas]

I don't consider myself a tech/brainer, but I'll give it a shot.

But I don't think population inversion is possible because of the 3 or 4 energy states required for this.
Surely one could 'pump' sodium vapor but it would never lead to stimulated emission.

One of the d lines has a slight gain, but its not enough to write home about. People have spent millions on trying. If you probe it in a single pass measurement with a hyperfine dye laser, you see a little gain , on D2, I believe. Not enough to sustain oscillation or get past the window losses.

Steve