Laser action in highly-excited vibrational levels of CO

Abstract

High-resolution measurements of the wave numbers of over 210 laser transitions in a Q-switched COHe laser are reported. Most of these transitions have not been previously observed. These observations of P-branch Δ v = 1 transitions in CO from vibrational levels v = 4 through v = 37 have made it possible to determine accurately the vibrational energy levels through v = 37, thus characterizing the vibrational energy level structure of CO to approximately 70% of the dissociation energy. Molecular constants are given which predict the observed transitions, although these are not definitive because of the increasing importance of higher-order terms.