High precision wavelength meter with Fabry-Perot optics

A high precision wavelength meter in the visible is described, which is based on a Fabry-Perot interferometer with several etalons of different resolution. The interference fringe pattern projected on a photo-diode array detector is computationally processed to give a stepwise refinement of the wavelength value to any adjusted accuracy. The present model intends to provide digital and real-time values of high precision wavelength for dye-laser spectroscopy, and to serve as a monitor or as a pilot for wavelength control of a dye-laser source of nanosecond pulses. The model is, therefore, designed with particular emphasis on its short-pulse capability and on-line mode of operation as well as on its high sensitivity and resolution. Some arrangements of essential necessity are involved therein, such as to avoid an errorneous wavelength readout for a noisy incidence of pulsed field. The ultimate accuracy of wavelength measurement is prescribed by the resolving power of the thickest etalon employed. As applied to the pulsed source, the model determines the wavelength to the accuracy of ±one part in 10⁷ for even a single shot nanosecond incidence of a fraction of μJ energy. The design and performance are described in connection to pulsed dye-laser incidence.     

A simple reflection-type two-dimensional refractive index profile measurement technique for optical waveguides

We report a new configuration of a reflection-type confocal scanning optical microscope system for measuring the refractive index profile of an optical waveguide. Several improvements on the earlier design are proposed; a light emitting diode at 650 nm wavelength instead of a laser diode or He-Ne laser is used as a light source for better index precision, and a simple longitudinal linear scanning and a curve fitting techniques are adapted instead of a servo control for maintaining an optical confocal arrangement. We have obtained spatial resolution of 800 nm and an index precision of 2 × 10⁻⁴. To verify the system’s capability, the refractive index profiles of a conventional multimode fiber and a home-made four-mode fiber were examined with our proposed measurement method.     

Precision measurement of two iodine lines at 585 nm and 549 nm

The transition frequencies of thei-component of the R(99)15-1 and thew-component of the R(85)26-0 transition in the B-X system of molecular¹²⁷I₂ have been determined with an overall relative standard uncertainty of 1.3 · 10^?10. For this purpose a commercial linear dye laser has been modified and stabilized to the corresponding iodine line. This dye laser serves as a transportable frequency standard which is compared with the wavelength standards of the PTB. The evaluation of an experiment for testing special relativity at the test storage ring (TSR) in Heidelberg is based on the precision of the reported interferometric wavelength comparison.     

A UV–Visible–NIR fluorescence lifetime imaging microscope for laser-based biological sensing with picosecond resolution

This article describes the design and characterization of a wide-field, time-domain fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) system developed for picosecond time-resolved biological imaging. The system consists of a nitrogen-pumped dye laser for UV–visible–NIR excitation (337.1–960 nm), an epi-illuminated microscope with UV compatible optics, and a time-gated intensified CCD camera with an adjustable gate width (200 ps-10^-3 s) for temporally resolved, single-photon detection of fluorescence decays with 9.6-bit intensity resolution and 1.4-μm spatial resolution. Intensity measurements used for fluorescence decay calculations are reproducible to within 2%, achieved by synchronizing the ICCD gate delay to the excitation laser pulse via a constant fraction optical discriminator and picosecond delay card. A self-consistent FLIM system response model is presented, allowing for fluorescence lifetimes (0.6 ns) significantly smaller than the FLIM system response (1.14 ns) to be determined to 3% of independently determined values. The FLIM system was able to discriminate fluorescence lifetime differences of at least 50 ps. The spectral tunability and large temporal dynamic range of the system are demonstrated by imaging in living human cells: UV-excited endogenous fluorescence from metabolic cofactors (lifetime ∼1.4 ns); and 460-nm excited fluorescence from an exogenous oxygen-quenched ruthenium dye (lifetime ∼400 ns). Received: 23 February 2003 / Published online: 22 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +1-734/9361-905, E-mail: mycek@umich.edu     

Full-automatic broad-band wavelength control of a pulsed dye laser

A full-automatic wavelength controled pulsed dye laser has been developed. With the control system, dye laser oscillations of nanosecond pulses are tuned to any wavelength in the visible or scanned in any sweep mode keeping the nearly transform-limited bandwidth of 0.45 GHz. A mechanical tuning of the wavelength is employed, such that the motion of three wavelength selectors is synchronized to give a smooth and precise wavelength control. The basic principle underlying the tuning scheme, various requirements to be met in system construction, and the practical performance of automatic wavelength control are described in this paper.     

Spontaneous amplified emission of a Na2 diffuse violet band produced through two-photon excitation of sodium vapor

We report observation of enhanced emission of the diffuse violet band at 436.0 nm when sodium vapor is optically pumped with a pulsed dye laser with output wavelength in the 570–595 nm region. A significant enhanced emission is observed in the forward direction along the propagating laser beam when the laser wavelength is tuned to near the two-photon excited 4d state of the Na atom. At a vapor density higher than 10¹⁵ cm^-3 the diffuse violet emission is predominantly produced through processes associated with the excitation of Na₂. The dependence of the enhanced emission on vapor density and laser power density is presented.     

Chirp-free nanosecond laser amplifier for precision spectroscopy

We describe a simple method for greatly reducing optical phase perturbations in a nanosecond pulsed dye amplifier. The laser dye mix is tailored to produce a susceptibility near zero at the operating wavelength. Frequency shifts are reduced to less than 3 MHz, and frequency chirping to less than 10 MHz, without significant loss of amplified power. This technique has been used to improve the accuracy of precision far-UV wavelength measurements in H(2) to ~7 parts in 10(9).     

一种用于荧光皮秒时间分辨光谱的测试系统

本文详细描述了一种由氩离子锁模激光器、样品池、分光系统及微微秒条纹相机构成的用于测试低强度荧光微微秒时间分辨光谱的系统。给出了典型样品的测试结果:时间分辨率为10ps,光谱范围为500Å—800Å。最后对测量结果进行了分析讨论。     

Power broadening of the Na-D lines in a flame—I. Time-dependent spectral and spatial properties of a flashlamp pumped dye laser

Prior to power broadening experiments on the Na-D lines in a flame (described in Part II), we investigated the time-dependent spectral and spatial properties of a flashlamp-pumped pulsed dye laser (pulse duration about 800 ns, FWHM), with Rhodamine-6G in methanol as dye liquid and an interference filter combined with a Fabry-Pérot etalon as bandwidth-restricting elements in the cavity. An experimental set-up is described that permits measurements of time-dependent spectra with a time-resolution of 10 ns and a spectral resolution of 2.5 × 10⁵. Results are given for different concentrations of the dye solution and for two different bandwidth settings of the laser. In general the spectral profiles at different moments during the pulse are well described by Gaussian curves. The spatial profiles at different moments during the pulse are best fitted by Lorentzian curves. At small concentrations of the dye solution, the time behaviour of the shift and the bandwidth are in (qualitative) agreement with theoretical predictions, i.e. a narrowing of the bandwidth and a shift to longer wavelengths of the line centre.     

Shadow photography of laser-driven shock waves in air

The interaction of a pulsed TE-CO₂-laser (10.6 μm wavelength, 7 μs pulse length, 0.7 J pulse energy, 10⁷ W/cm² power density, 100 kW mean power) with metals in air was investigated. Laser-supported absorption phenomena and material ablation processes are compared to those of conventional pulsed TEA-CO ₂-lasers. Of interest were the time-dependent plasma formation and the evolution of the shock waves. To achieve a time resolution better than 10 ns, a pulsed dye laser was used as a light source for the shadow photography     

Dye-Laser Fluorescence of 4-Methylumbelliferone and Related Coumarins

During tha eight years since phthalocyanine solution was used by Sorokin and Lankard in the original dye laser¹ and DTTC bromide and iodide were used in the work of Schafer, Schmidt and Volze², laser emission has been reported³ from close on 400 combinations of laser dye and solvents covering a wavelength range extending from 340 to 1175 nm. Many hundreds or even thousands of attempts to induce laser action in a vast number of available chemicals have proved unsuccessful, either by pulsed or continuous laser pumping, or by flashlamp techniques. In fact, relatively few combinations have established themselves as highly efficient, reliable and entirely satisfactory dye laser media. The compound rhodamine 6G is probably the most widely used in the range 540–640 nm. However, some ten different solvents and a variety of excitation techniques have been necessary to maintain maximum fluorescence intensity over this range. A t shorter wavelengths an acidic solution of 4,6- dimethyl-7-methylamino-coumarin in ethanol was observed to lase⁴ over the range 430–530 nm and a particular solution of 4-methylumbelliferone to lase from 391 to 567 nm⁵. This offered the possibility of achieving narrow linewidth tunability using dye lasers based on single solutions. It represented a significant advance on the first experiments² in which it was possible by changing the solvent, varying the solute concentration or changing the reflectivity of the resonator mirror, to Shift the wavelengths by up to 60 nmm in the infra-red region.     

Pulsed optoacoustic spectroscopy for calorimetry wihout a standard

A calorimetric method is described which does not require a reference absorber to deduce absolute yields for heat deposition following pulsed laser irradiation. Pulsed optoacoustic detection is used and signals are calibrated based on the excitation wavelength dependence of the heat yield. The apparatus is used to measure fluorescence yields of several well known dyes in methanol solution. It is also demonstrated on a monolayer of dye adsorbed to sapphire where no reference would be available. This technique was originally developed to measure pulsed temperature rises in stained mitochondria, and to choose an appropriate staining dye for selective thermal denaturation of proteins in cancerous cells by pulsed laser heating.     

Determination of the lifetime of the mercury 63P1 state

A pulsed tunable dye laser was used for a high resolution experimental study of mercury fluorescence from the 6³P₁ state. The output of the dye laser was frequency doubled into the 253.7 nm region using a potassium penta-borate crystal. Exponential decays were observed for each of the five individual components of the hyperfine structure separately and the effects of the trapping of resonance radiation on the observed lifetime of the 6³P₁ state of mercury were investigated for each resolvable component. Within experimental error, the natural radiative lifetime of the 6³P₁ state was found to be independent of the hyperfine component irradiated and a value of 122±2 nsec was obtained, consistent with results found by other methods.     

Efficient amplification of sub-picosecond pulses of a non-CW dye laser

Efficient amplification in a dye laser amplifier is investigated theoretically and experimentally. A five-level rate equation approach is considered including rotational relaxation of the dye molecules. The effects of the pump pulse duration and of the parameters of the input pulse are discussed. The results are compared with experimental data for 0.5 ps pulses of a pulsed dye laser. Conversion efficiencies >10% are achieved for a single pass amplifier using Nd:YAG pump pulses of 2 ns while an effective fluorescence lifetime of 1.7±0.2 ns is determined for the gain medium rhodamine 6G. The triple pass amplifier stage of the laser system achieves an energy conversion of 4% with 40 J output pulses.     

Solid-state dye lasers based on polymethyl methacrylate doped with pyrromethene 650

Solid-state dye samples based on polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) doped with different concentrations of the dye PM650 were prepared. With SHG of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (532 nm, ∼15 ns) pumping the samples longitudinally, the fluorescence, lasing spectra and slope efficiencies of the samples were obtained. The highest slope efficiency 27.49% and laser output energy 22.0 mJ was achieved in the sample with a dye concentration of 2.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol/L. To our knowledge, the results are the best under the same condition so far. The maxima of output lasing spectrum is about 653.5 nm. Our results have shown that using solid-state samples doped with PM650 can extend the dye laser wavelength to the red.     

Production of intensities of ∼ 1019 W/cm2 by a table-top KrF laser

We report on the generation of intensities of 10¹⁹ W/cm^–2 by focusing the output beam of a table-top hybrid dye-excimer laser system operating at 248 nm. The laser system uses a pulsed dye laser and a single, commercially available excimer gain module. Considerations and optical arrangements for the optimization of the phase-front and the beam homogeneity of ultraviolet excimer amplifiers are presented.Prof. F.P. Schäfer on the occasion of his 65th birthday.     

宽带输出PM580掺杂聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯固体染料激光器研究

采用高效激光染料PM580作为掺杂物质,聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)作为基质,在对固体染料光谱特性研究的基础上,重点研究了调Q倍频Nd:YAG抽运下不同染料掺杂浓度的固体染料激光输出特性.研究结果表明掺杂浓度对输出激光波长影响明显,随着掺杂浓度的增加,激光输出波长红移,从激光增益出发,对该现象给出了理论解释.掺杂浓度对激光转化效率也有影响,当掺杂浓度为2×10^－4mol/L时,获得染料激光输出斜率效率最高达53.8%,抽运能量410mJ时,获得染料激光输出220mJ,激光带宽～8nm 关键词： 固体染料 宽带染料激光 PM580 聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯     

Active wavelength control of an external cavity quantum cascade laser

We present an active wavelength control system for grating-based external cavity lasers that increases the accuracy of predicting the lasing wavelength based on the grating equation and significantly improves scan-to-scan wavelength/frequency repeatability. The ultimate 3?? precision of a frequency scan is determined by the scan-to-scan repeatability of 0.042?cm^?1. Since this control method can be applied to any external cavity laser with little to no modification, such a precision provides an excellent opportunity for spectroscopic applications that target molecular absorption lines at standard atmospheric conditions.     

超短脉冲激光瞄准装置光学系统设计

为了提高超短脉冲激光的瞄准精度,基于自准直原理提出瞄准装置光学系统。以670 nm光纤耦合激光器为光源,设计指示光准直、扩束光学系统,准直光的不平行度达到3.2,设计焦距为350 mm,相对孔径1/5,离轴量50 mm的主激光离轴抛物面镜,其成像质量达到衍射极限,基于准直束光学系统和离轴抛物面镜,设计可适应670 nm和800 nm两种波长的20和100的瞄准和监测成像光学系统。提出一种小孔准直的安装调试方法,以指示光进行实验验证,结果表明:设计的光学系统成像光斑均匀,其物方分辨率达到4.1 m。     

The violet emissions produced by laser excitation of Na vapor in the 570–595 nm region

We have observed atomic Na and molecular Na₂ emissions in the violet region when Na vapor in a heatpipe (～10³—10¹⁶ atoms/cm³) is irradiated with a pulsed dye laser with output wavelength in the 570–597 nm region. The Na atomic emissions probably result from recombination of Na⁺ + e^- and energy-pooling involving highly excited atoms and molecules, while the diffuse violet emission bands are probably produced through collisions among excited Na atoms and Na₂ molecules.