| A potential lasing system based on near resonant energy transfer from the excited triplet states of the silicon monoxide molecule to atomic sodium was investigated. The gain characteristics of the sodium vapor pumped by near resonant energy transfer from SiO* metastables, produced via the reaction of atomic silicon from an evaporative source, with nitrous oxide, and investigated using a carefully designed gain measurement system, is described. The system was designed to measure the amplification of a probe beam, produced using a sodium discharge lamp, directed through the amplifying medium by a system of relay optics. Phase sensitive detection was employed to distinguish the probe beam from the spontaneous emission background associated with the excited sodium atom. The system was found to be capable of detecting amplification on order of a part per thousand. The testing procedures and data collection described indicate possible amplification.; A second topic concerns the production of donor (SiO*) molecules utilizing the dissociation of silane, SiH4, as the source of atomic silicon. Both electric discharge and pyrolysis were evaluated as methods to dissociate the silane. The pyrolysis of highly dilute silane in a neutral carrier gas proved to be the most successful approach. The reaction of nitrous oxide with the silane dissociation products yielded silicon monoxide in the metastable b3Π states as well as the A1Π state. Significantly, the a3Σ+ state, populated when ground state silicon atoms from an evaporative source react with N2O, was found to be absent. |
