Abstract

The 0–0, 1–0, and 0–1 bands of N₂ ( ~ 3 Torr) excited by a 3-ns pulse of a 400-keV electron beam from a Febetron 706 generator were recorded in the 17th and 18th orders of a 7.3-m vacuum Ebert grating spectrograph. As many as 159 lines have been found to lase in the 0–0 band, 9 lines in the 1–0 band, and 17 lines in the 0–1 band. In the present study a larger number of rotational lines have been observed in all three branches of the 0–0 band than were reported by earlier workers (~ 20-Torr N₂). This is probably because collisional deexcitations from higher rotational levels at low pressures of 3 Torr are less than those at low higher pressures. The analysis and the results obtained are compared with those of the earlier workers.

© 1986 Optical Society of America