Stimulated Raman scattering of picosecond light pulses in hydrogen, deuterium, and methane

Experimental results are presented on stimulated Raman scattering of short pulses of approximately 100 ps duration in H
2
, D
2
, and CH
4
, both in capillary waveguides and in a tight focusing geometry. Experimentally determined thresholds are in good agreement with calculation. Low thresholds (
< 20 \mu
J) are observed in CH
4
and preliminary results using a mode-locked dye laser as pump indicate a useful source of tunable short pulse radiation in the near infrared.