Spectroscopic Studies with a Tunable N_2O Laser

An N_2O laser is described which is tunable over 65 rotational lines of the 00°1-10°0 band. A simple method is used to determine the cavity losses of this laser. Absorption of a number of N_2O lines by the 00°1-10°0 band of CO_2 is demonstrated. The P (20) line of N_2O is observed after attenuation by a long path of N_2O at 125-torr pressure and the peak absorption coefficient for this line is found to be 0.0094 cm^-1 at 300 K. The N_2O laser has a certain advantage over the CO_2 laser for long-range communications through the atmosphere.