Lasing characteristics of gas mixtures involving UFG: Application to nuclear pumping of lasers

Intense blue-green fluorescence from a structured band centered at lambda approximately 484 nm was observed from Ar, CF3I and NF3 gas mixtures excited by an electron beam. This emission was tentatively assigned to the E yields A transition of the iodine monofluoride (IF) molecule. The fluorescence efficiency of the IF(E yields A) band and the IF (E) state radiative lifetime were estimated to be approximately 6% and 15 ns, respectively. The emission band structure, the short IF(E) radiative lifetime and the Franck-Condon shift between the E and A states suggest that IF is an attractive candidate for a blue-green laser.