High resolution emission spectra of laser-excited molecular iodine as the excitation frequency is tuned through and away from resonance

We have studied the ΔJ = 2 rotationally shifted emission lines in the region of the strong absorption of molecular iodine which occurs within the 5145 Å argon ion laser line. We used an etalon tuned, single frequency argon ion laser with a linewidth of 20 MHz to excite the iodine emission and recorded the spectra of the rotational lines with Fabry-Perot spectrometers having resolutions up to 70 MHz (0.0023 cm^-1). To overcome Doppler linewidth limitations we took spectra of the emission at small angles to the exciting beam and found the lines to have widths less than our instrumental resolution and frequencies which accurately tuned with the incident laser frequency. We recorded the emission lines for laser frequencies in the absorption line center and out into the absorption wing. Our spectra show that the intensity of the emission lines follows the absorption line profile while the frequency of the emission lines is determined by the laser frequency; the intensity is maximum at the absorption line center, falling by 10⁴ as the laser frequency is moved off the line center, while the line position maintains a constant frequency shift from the laser frequency.     

Excited state absorption in CaMoO4

We report the first measurement of excited state absorption (ESA) in a calcium molybdate (CaMoO₄) crystal, and compare the ESA spectrum with a stimulated emission spectrum calculated in terms of the McCumber theory of phonon terminated lasers. It appears that the magnitude of ESA would preclude laser action in this crystal. The temporal ESA dependence has been measured and discussed in terms of the most likely assignment of energy levels involved in ESA.     

Spectroscopic and travelling-wave lasing characterisation of tetraphenylbenzidine and di-naphtalenyl-diphenylbenzidine

The organic light emitting diode (OLED) hole transport molecules N,N,N’,N’-tetraphenylbenzidine (TPB, triphenylamine dimer TAD or TPD) and N,N’-bis(2-naphtalenyl)-N,N’-bis(phenylbenzidine) (β-NPB, naphtyl-diphenylamine dimer β-NPD), dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and as neat film, are characterized by optical absorption and emission spectroscopy. The absorption and stimulated emission cross-section spectra, the fluorescence quantum distributions, fluorescence quantum yields, degrees of fluorescence polarization, and fluorescence lifetimes are determined. The lasing behaviour is studied by picosecond laser pulse excitation (excitation wavelength 347.15 nm, pulse duration 35 ps). The excited-state absorption at the pump laser wavelength is determined by saturable absorption measurement. Low-Q laser oscillation of TPB in THF is achieved by transverse pumping of the dye in a cell. The excited-state absorption of TPB in THF at the laser wavelength is extracted from the laser threshold. In TPB neat films, wave-guided travelling-wave lasing was obtained. No laser action was achieved for β-NPB because of small S₁-S₀ stimulated emission cross-section, and the presence of excited-state absorption in the fluorescence wavelength region. The TPB and β-NPB results are compared with the corresponding spectroscopic and lasing behaviour of the related methyl-substituted triphenylamine dimers, 3-methyl-TPD and 4-methyl-TPD, which are well established OLED hole transport materials.     

Spectroscopic and lasing characterisation of a dicarbazovinylene-MEH-benzene dye

The dye 1,4-bis(9-ethyl-3-carbazovinylene)-2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-benzene (abbreviated 2CzV-MEH-B) dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (THF) and as neat film is characterised by optical absorption and emission spectroscopy. The absorption and stimulated emission cross-section spectra, the fluorescence quantum distributions, fluorescence quantum yields, degrees of fluorescence polarisation, and fluorescence lifetimes are determined. A lasing characterisation is carried out by pumping with single second harmonic pulses of a mode-locked ruby laser (wavelength 347.15 nm, pulse duration 35 ps). The excited-state absorption at the pump laser wavelength is determined by saturable absorption measurements. Laser oscillation of the dye in THF in a rectangular cell is achieved by transverse pumping using the uncoated cell windows for light feedback. From the emission behaviour around threshold the excited-state absorption cross-section spectrum in the laser active spectral region is extracted. The wave-guided travelling-wave lasing behaviour of the dye as neat film is studied by analysis of the amplification of the transverse pumped spontaneous emission. Surface emitting distributed-feedback lasing was achieved with a neat film on corrugated second-order periodic gratings.     

S1 singlet excited-state absorption of DODCI

1 excited-state absorption cross-section spectrum of DODCI in ethylene glycol is determined in the wavelength range from 500 nm to 750 nm. The S₁ state is populated by amplified femtosecond dye laser pulses (wavelength 592 nm) and the S₁-state absorption and emission behaviour is probed with a femtosecond light continuum. A general analysis procedure is developed to extract absolute excited-state absorption cross-sections from the measured transmissions. For DODCI in ethylene glycol the wavelength regions of saturable absorption (mode-locking application), reverse saturable absorption (optical limiter application), and effective stimulated emission (laser application) are determined. Received: 25 July 1996     

Polydispersed Powders (Nd3+:YVO4) for Ultra Efficient Random Lasers

Random lasers hold the potential for cheap, coherent light sources that can be miniaturized and molded into any shape with several other added benefits such as speckle‐free imaging; however, they require improvements specifically in terms of efficiency. This paper details for the first time a strategy for increasing the efficiency of a random laser that consists in using smaller particles, trapped between large particles to serve as absorption and gain centers whereas the large particles control mainly the light diffusion into the sample. Measurements of backscattering cone, sample absorption, reflection, and laser emission are used to determine the samples' transport mean free path, fill fractions, laser efficiency, and the average photon path lengths inside the scattering medium for backscattered pump photons. A record slope efficiency of 50% is reached by optimizing pump photon diffusion and absorption in a powder pellet composed by a polydispersed particle size distribution (smaller particles between bigger ones) from a grinded and sieved 1.33 mol% yttrium vanadate doped with neodymium crystal with mean particle size of 54 µ m.     

Nonlinearity and time-resolved studies of ion emission in ultrafast laser ablation of graphite

We have investigated the laser fluence dependence of the ion emission process in ultrafast laser ablation of graphite using a time-of-flight technique. Two regimes of ion emission have been identified: (1) a highly nonlinear laser absorption process accompanied by generation of a transient electrical field on the surface and collisionless emission of ions due to electrostatic repulsion; (2) a saturation regime for laser power absorption characterised by nearly equal kinetic energy of ejected carbon clusters. We also show the effect of the surface temperature on the emitted clusters’ stability and the influence of nonlinearity on the intensity autocorrelation traces.     

SPECTROSCOPIC INVESTIGATIONS AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE OCCURRENCE OF MULTIPHOTON ABSORPTION PROCESSES IN CADMIUM IODIDE

Spectroscopic investigations for cadmium iodide (CdI₂) crystal have been carried out at 80 K under laser excitation. Due to the self-trapped excitons of CdI₂, a broad-band stimulated emission spectrum with its peak emission around 520 nm was achieved from the crystal under two-photon pumping by means of ruby laser. The photoluminescence (PL) studies in the crystal show overall nonlinear dependence of the PL peak intensity on input laser energy. The occurrence of slopes about 2 and 3 obtained in the desired energy range of interest for ruby and neodymium laser excitations, respectively, indicate corresponding photon absorption process. The photon absorption coefficients for the processes were calculated.     

Optimization of dye-laser output coupling by consideration of the spatial gain distribution

The problem of output-coupling optimization of a transversely or longitudinally pumped dye laser is treated in terms of a rate equation approach under steady state considerations. The theoretical study considers the spatial variation of the gain distribution and such typical features of a dye laser as reabsorption, triplet effects and excited state absorption. Numerical results obtained with realistic values of typical laser parameters (cross-sections for stimulated emission and reabsorption, number density of active molecules etc.) indicate that a higher degree of output coupling and consequently higher output powers are feasible upon a complete consideration of the spatial gain distribution     

Optical properties of silicon microcolumn grown by nanosecond pulsed laser irradiation

We have investigated the optical properties of silicon pillars formed by cumulative nanosecond pulsed excimer laser irradiation of single-crystal silicon in vacuum created under different repetition rates. The changes in optical characteristics of silicon pillar were systematically determined and compared as the number of KrF laser shots was increased from 1 to 15,000.The results show that silicon pillar PL curves exhibit a blue band around 430 nm and an ultraviolet band peaking at 370 nm with the vanishing of the green emission at 530 nm. A correlation between the intensity of the blue PL band and the intensity of the Si-O absorption bands has been exploited to explain such emission, whereas, the origin of the ultraviolet band may be attributed to different types of defects in silicon oxide.     

Effects of field broadening and pump line selection on multi-level absorption in molecular systems

The problem of multi-level absorption of i.r. laser radiation in polyatomic gases is examined using the density matrix formalism. The general condition under consideration is that field broadening effects are significant, but the detailed and discrete features of the absorption spectra remain very important. Collisional effects are taken into account through macroscopic relaxation terms, but the cumulative effects of collisional relaxation are assumed to cause only minor perturbations to the overall vibrational-rotational populations over the optical pumping time scale of interest. Various approximate formulae are then derived for locating the optimum frequency for optical pumping of three consecutive anharmonic vibrational levels within a given normal mode and for predicting the intensity- and frequency-dependence of the resultant uppermost level population density during a quasi-steady state balance among the absorption, stimulated emission, dephasing collision and rotational relaxation rates. Numerical examples are illustrated for pumping of the three lowest vibrational levels within the non-degenerate asymmetric stretching mode of the linear triatomic molecule CO₂ for which the absorption spectra are relatively simple and well known. Some possible applications of these results to the problem of i.r. laser frequency conversion and to the interpretation of wavelength-selective i.r. photodissociation recently observed in many symmetric top molecules, such as BCl₃, SiF₄ and SF₆ for which the absorption spectra are much more complex and the spectroscopic constants much less certain, are also discussed.     

Effects of an ultrashort prepulse on soft X-ray generation from an aluminium plasma produced by femtosecond Ti:Sapphire laser pulses

The influence of a prepulse on soft X-ray emission in the range of 50–200 from an aluminium plasma produced by 130 fs Ti: Sapphire laser pulses with an intensity of 10¹⁴ W/cm² at normal incidence is studied. An ultrashort prepulse with an intensity of 10¹³ W/cm² significantly enhances soft X-ray emission when there is a long time separation ( > 100 ps) between the prepulse and an intense main pulse. It is also observed for the first time that a prepulse with a short pulse time separation can slightly reduce soft X-ray emission, contrary to the previous work done using 248 nm laser pulses. This can be explained qualitatively in terms of the dependence of absorption on the length scale.     

Spectral properties of neodymium in POCl<Subscript>3</Subscript>-SbCl<Subscript>5</Subscript>-Nd<Superscript>3+</Superscript>

The absorption and luminescence spectra of neodymium in a binary inorganic solvent—phosphorus oxychloride-antimony pentachloride—are measured. The spectra are analyzed in terms of the Judd-Ofelt theory. The Judd-Ofelt parameters Ω_λ, the oscillator strengths of the main absorption bands, the spontaneous emission probabilities, the radiative lifetime, the luminescence quantum yields, and the stimulated emission cross sections for the ⁴ F _3/2 → ⁴ I _11/2 laser transition are calculated.     

Infrared diode laser spectroscopy

Three types of lasers (double-heterostructure 66 K InAsSb/InAsSbP laser diode, room temperature, multi quantum wells with distributed feedback (MQW with DFB) (GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb based) diode laser and vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) (GaSb based) have been characterized using Fourier transform emission spectroscopy and compared. The photoacoustic technique was employed to determine the detection limit of formaldehyde (less than 1 ppmV) for the strongest absorption line of the v₃ + v₅ band in the emission region of the GaInAsSb/AlGaAsSb diode laser. The detection limit (less than 10 ppbV) of formaldehyde was achieved in the 2820 cm⁻¹ spectral range in case of InAsSb/InAsSbP laser (fundamental bands of v₁, v₅). Laser sensitive detection (laser absorption together with high resolution Fourier transform infrared technique including direct laser linewidth measurement, infrared photoacoustic detection of neutral molecules (methane, form-aldehyde) is discussed.     

Flashlamp-excited dye lasers in the near infrared

The laser emission of flashlamp-excited polymethine dyes is investigated. The spectral shift towards longer wavelengths due to relatively slow pumping is discussed in terms of transient triplet-triplet absorption. First results concerning mode locking and tuning on the 785–805 nm and 872–880 nm ranges of two tricarbocyanine dyes are presented.     

基于光谱分析的CO_2激光+脉冲GMAW复合焊峰值状态激光能量传输研究

在激光+脉冲GMAW复合焊接过程中,焊丝端部金属熔化产生大量的金属蒸汽,导致等离子体中电子、粒子的扩散现象加剧,使得激光的传输模式和工件对激光能量的吸收率和吸收模式发生变化。基于光谱分析的方法得到了复合焊接峰值状态的电子密度和温度分布,通过高速摄影分析了不同焊接模式下等离子体形态的变化,结合Beer-Lambert吸收定律计算了不同焊接模式下激光的吸收率。结果表明,在复合焊过程中,由于焊丝端部金属被熔化,焊丝的金属蒸汽进入激光等离子体内部,导致激光匙孔上方电子密度进一步提高,等离子体吸收激光能量能力增强,使得激光的传输效率从纯激光焊的94.16%降低到了CO_2激光+脉冲GMAW复合焊的85.84%。     

单斜结构的Yb:KLu(WO4)2晶体光谱和激光性质的各向异性

研究了Yb:KLu(WO₄)₂晶体对非偏振抽运光的吸收以及连续波激光振荡性质. 晶体结构的低对称性导致晶体光谱呈强烈各向异性,最强的吸收和发射都发生在平行于N_m主轴的偏振方向上. N_g切向晶体具有最高的非偏振抽运光吸收效率和最大的激光功率产生潜力,2 mm长的晶体产生的最高连续波输出功率为11 W,相对于吸收抽运功率,光—光转换效率为68%,而斜率效率则达80%. 关键词： 吸收谱 发射谱 激光振荡 各向异性     

Absorption and emission spectra of yttria-stabilized zirconia and magnesium oxide

We have investigated the luminescence and absorption spectra of doped and undoped ZrO₂-Y₂O₃ and MgO crystals at room- and low temperatures. The crystals used are partly doped with the transition metals Ni, Co, Cr and the rare earth Pr. The emission spectra were obtained under laser excitation at different wavelengths. The observed optical emission and absorption bands of the MgO crystals doped with Ni, Co and Cr correspond to transitions between spin-orbit split crystal field levels of the transition metals. Luminescence and absorption bands of undoped yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) crystals are due to color centers, absorption bands of the doped YSZ correspond to the well known transitions of the Ni²⁺, Co²⁺ and Pr³⁺ ions, respectively. The emission spectra of the doped YSZ obtained under various laser excitations can be explained by an energy transfer process between the color center and the doping materials. The influence of annealing on the absorption and emission of Pr³⁺/Pr⁴⁺ is investigated.     

Fluorescence Enhancement of CdSe Q-Dots with Intense Femtosecond Laser Irradiation

Effects of intense femtosecond (fs) laser irradiation on the optical properties of cadmium selenide (CdSe) nanocrystals are studied. We present the changes in emission and absorption of laser (800 nm, 110 fs, Ti–Sapphire) irradiated CdSe nanocrystals dispersed in dimethylformamide (DMF). It is observed that the absorbance of CdSe nanocrystals capped with trioctylphosphine (TOP) increases with the number of laser pulses. The trap state luminescence intensity of these crystals degrades, whereas the band edge luminescence intensity shows an increase as a function of the fs laser irradiation. We also report strong two photon absorption and reduction in the trap state luminescence intensity after irradiation with the laser pulses.     

掺铒光纤自发辐射特性研究

本文对掺铒光纤的自发辐射特性进行了研究,分析了掺杂铒离子光纤的吸收截面、辐射截面、自发辐射谱、净增益系数等的特性,以及在掺铒光纤中,泵浦功率、自发辐射功率、光纤长度、自发辐射谱之间的关系,并用单色仪和波长为1.48um的InGaAsP半导体激光器测试了国产掺铒光纤的吸收谱和它的自发辐射谱。