Dispersion of gases in atomic iodine lasers at 1.315 microm.

A cw atomic iodine photolytic laser at 1.315 microm was used for the first time to measure the refractivities (polarizabilities or Gladstone-Dale constants) of He, H(2)O, N(2), O(2), Ar, CO(2), O(3), Cl(2), SF(6), ICl, CF(3)I, I(2), and n-C(3)F(7)I. For comparison with previous measurements, the refractivities were also obtained at 4579, 4880, 5145, and 6328 A. Excellent agreement at these wavelengths supports the validity of these newly reported results. The data presented are useful in the development of a near-diffraction-limited laser beam for any atomic iodine laser at 1.315 microm.