Spectroscopic investigation of the phosphine and nitrous oxide reaction

Thesis/Dissertation · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1980

OSTI ID:5431695

Harris, D G

The molecular structure of PO possesses several fetures which make it appear to be a viable laser candidate. The lowest excited electronic state is metastable, allowing a population to be built up in this reservoir. The metastable state may combine with a ground state PO molecular to form the excimer (PO)/sub 2/*. The excimer may radiatively decay emitting throughout the visible. The reactions of mixtures of phosphine and nitrous oxide were initiated by a fast electrical discharge. Film plates were taken of the emission spectra from 2300 to 9000 A. The high resolution spectra show a continuum emission beginning at 3250 A and extending throughout the visible spectrum. The continuum has molecular emission bands superimposed on it. Temporal emission studies indicate that the chemiluminescent intensity increases as the square of the reagent pressure. A standard lamp was used to correct the high resolution spectra for film response. It also allowed an estimate to be made of the photon yield of the reaction. The photon yield was found to increase linearly with pressure up to the highest pressure investigated, 666 torr, where it has the value 2 x 10/sup -4/. Flashlamp absorption and intracavity dye laser spectroscopy measurements could find no absorption which could be associated with an emitter of the continuum. Cavity tests carried out on the reaction showed no lasing action. Attempts to stimulate the chemiluminescent emission with a high power short pulse ruby laser were unsuccessful. The technique of intracavity dye laser spectroscopy which is sensitive to both loss or gain indicates that the media is transparent to 4 x 10/sup -5//cm in the region investigated, 5300 to 6500 A.

• OSTI ID: 5431695
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
CHEMICAL LASERS
EMISSION SPECTRA
LASER MATERIALS
ABSORPTION SPECTRA
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHEMILUMINESCENCE
DIMERS
ELECTRICAL PUMPING
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITED STATES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
NITROUS OXIDE
OPTICAL PUMPING
PERFORMANCE
PHOSPHINES
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
CHALCOGENIDES
DATA
INFORMATION
LASERS
LUMINESCENCE
MATERIALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PUMPING
SPECTRA
420300* - Engineering- Lasers- (-1989)