Title: molecular laser
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - molecular laser
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.M03991
Status: current

Definition
A gas laser which makes use of electronic, vibrational or rotational energy levels in molecules. The molecules can be excited by an electric discharge, as in the case of the $\ce{N2}$ or $\ce{CO2}$ laser, by chemical reactions, as in the $\ce{HF}$ or $\ce{DF}$ lasers, or by another laser, as in the $\ce{CH3F}$ far IR laser.

Related Terms
- gas laser: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/G02585
- laser: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/L03459

Source
- PAC, 1995, 67, 1913. 'Nomenclature, symbols, units, and their usage in spectrochemical analysis-XV. Laser-based molecular spectroscopy for chemical analysis - laser fundamentals (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)' on page 1920 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199567111913)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M03991/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M03991/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M03991/xml

Citation: Citation: 'molecular laser' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.M03991
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Accessed: 2026-04-20T20:04:33+00:00