The results of experiments on a pulsed optically pumped vibrational transition HBr laser are discussed. In these experiments, rotation-vibration transitions in the first overtone band near 2 pm are pumped with an optical parametric oscillator. Lasing is generated in (2,l) band transitions near 4 pm. The laser performance is governed by gas phase kinetic processes, which redistribute the absorbed pump energy during the evolution of the laser pulse. A maximum 4-pm output energy of 0.85 mJ was obtained with 3.47 mJ of absorbed pump energy.

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