Blue-green atomic photodissociation lasers in group IIb: Zn, Cd, and Hg

Four new laser lines, two in atomic Zn at 481.1 and 472.2 nm and two in atomic Cd at 508.6 and 480.0 nm, are reported. The analog laser lines in Hg at 546.1 and 435.8 nm are studied further. These lines correspond to the transitions
n^{3}S_{1} \rightarrow (n-1)^{3}P_{2}
and
n^{3}S_{1} \rightarrow (n-1)^{3}P_{1}
of the triplet system of the metals. The medium in the three cases is MI
2
(
M
= Zn, Cd, or Hg) vapor at about 1 mbar and the pump is a KrF laser at 248 nm. The blue-green superfluorescent pulse power is in the kilowatt range, with a pulse duration of about 1 ns. The pumping process must involve more than one photon. A sequential three-photon pumping process is proposed for the three cases.