Feasibility of stimulated emission of radiation from ionic heteronuclear molecules. I. Spectroscopy

A theoretical investigation is made of the electronic structure of levels of ionic heteronuclear molecules consisting of atoms and ions of rare gases, halogens, elements of the oxygen group, and alkali metals. The electronic transitions promising for lasing in the visible, ultraviolet, and far ultraviolet ($\lambda\gtrsim 70$ nm) spectral ranges are identified. A method is proposed for the attainment of lasing as a result of electronic transitions in multiply charged ionic molecules of the $Li^{++}Li\to Li^{+}Li^{+}$ type ($\lambda\sim 20$ nm).