Generation of widely tunable nanosecond pulses in the vibrational infrared by stimulated Raman scattering from the cesium 6s-5d transition

The first reported use of a pulsed rhodamine-dye laser to generate widely tunable nanosecond light pulses in the vibrational infrared by stimulated electronic Raman scattering is discussed. Narrow-band pulses of up to 120 µJ were generated from 3450 to 900 cm^{- 1} (2.9 to 11.1 um)µ and broadband pulses up to 754uJ were generated from 3390 to 1800 cm^{- 1} (2.9 to 5.5 µm) by scattering from the 6s-5d transition in cesium vapor. Cesium dimer effects on tuning- curve structure and efficiency are discussed.