A feasibility study for a nuclear pumped nitrogen ion laser

Mixtures of He and N2 have been bombarded with pulsed, two-MV protons in an effort to determine the feasibility of producing a nuclear pumped nitrogen ion laser. Scintillations from the gas cell are viewed at 90 deg to the incident beam direction by a scanning monochromator. For various total and partial pressures, relative proton energy conversion efficiencies and excited state lifetime measurements have been made. Small amounts of UF6 were found to quench the 391.4 and 427.8 nm lines of N2(+).