IR diode laser measurements of the NH3(v 2) band at different temperatures

A tunable IR diode laser system has been used to measure the temperature dependence of the line strength and the pressure dependence of the nitrogen broadened linewidth of the aQ(6, 6) and aQ(7, 7) ammonia absorption lines up to temperatures of 660 K. The behavior of the line strength and the pressure dependence of the linewidth coincide with the theoretical prediction while the temperature dependence of the linewidth differs significantly from the predictions of the hard core model.     

FIR Stark spectroscopy on optically pumped CH3OH laser

An extensive theoretical and experimental analysis of the absorption and emission spectrum of a CH₃OH FIR-laser excited by a conventional CO₂ laser is presented. Particular interest is devoted to the Stark shifts of the pump and lasing lines and to the electric field dependence of the Fir-laser output of the various lines. The offsets with respect to the exciting radiation and the Stark shifts of the IR absorption (pump) lines are measured by means of the transferred Lamb dip technique. The theoretical behaviours of the Stark patterns are calculated for several choices of the quantum numbers and selection rules involved in the transitions. A large variety of experimental results are reported and compared to theory. Non-linear Stark shifts have been observed for the 37.5m FIR laser line and for the IR-pump transitions excited by the 9-P(38) and 10-R(38) CO₂ laser Lines. Line assignments are proposed and new FIR laser lines are reported.     

Detailed vibrational population distributions in a CO2 laser discharge as measured with a tunable diode laser

A tunable diode laser (TDL) operating in the 2150–2350 cm^–1 wavenumber region is used to probe a conventional cw CO₂ laser discharge. Absorption lines in more than 25 different vibrational bands are observed, enabling us to determine absolute vibrational populations inall levels of concern to the dynamics of the 10 m CO₂ laser. Levels in thev ₃ mode of CO₂ as high as 00°9 are monitored, and it is found that anharmonic effects play a significant role in the populations of such levels. Thev ₁ andv ₂ mode populations are also investigated in detail, and it is found that these modes are strongly coupled and maintain a common vibrational temperature under all discharge conditions. The use of a TDL is shown to be a powerful technique for investigating the dynamics of infrared molecular lasers.This work was supported in part by the National Science and Engineering Research Council, Canada     

Partly tunable mid-infrared NH3 laser

Using a continously tunable pulsed 20-atmosphere CO₂ laser as a pump source, we generated pulses of mid-infrared radiation, partly tunable in frequency intervals in the range between 200 and 900 cm^–1 via stimulated Raman scattering in gaseous ammonia. As a Raman cell we used a multiple pass cell. We observed for¹⁴NH₃ and¹⁵NH₃ laser lines at 52 different frequencies with 39 lines observed for the first time. Tuning ranges up to 150 GHz and peak powers of several MW were achieved. The quantum efficiency reached 40 %.     

Optoacoustic laser Stark spectroscopy in the ν2 band of 14NH3

Laser Stark spectroscopy of the R(5, K) transitions in the ν₂ band of ammonia was carried out using coincidences with the 9-μm band CO₂ laser lines. We observed 22 Doppler-free resonances by using an optoacoustic detector and a Lamb-dip stabilized CO₂ laser. A simultaneous analysis of sa, aa, and ss lines yields zero-field transition frequencies with an absolute accuracy of 1 ～ 2 MHz.     

The high resolution infrared spectrum and laser Stark spectroscopy of thev8 band of propyne

The perpendicularv ₈ band lying in the 1000–1100 cm^–1 region has been studied from infrared and laser Stark, spectra. We were interested in the part of spectrum corresponding to the spectral range of the 9 m CO₂ laser lines. Assignments of rovibrational lines with J'<40 and K'<6 have been made. About 100 Stark resonances have been assigned to 12 rovibrational transitions. Effective molecular constants and dipole moment have been determined with high accuracy. A list of close resonances with CO₂ laser lines is given and may be used for optical pumping experiments.     

Diode laser spectroscopy of H2O and CO2 in the 1.877-μm region for the in situ monitoring of the Martian atmosphere

A diode laser spectrometer was used in the laboratory to study H₂O and CO₂ line intensities and self-broadening coefficients around 1.877 μm. The spectral region ranging from 5327 cm^-1 to 5329 cm^-1, which is suitable for the in situ sensing of water vapor and carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere, was studied using a distributed feedback GaInSb diode laser from Nanoplus GmbH. We have studied one line from the (011)←(000)band of H₂O and two lines from the (01¹2)_I←(000) band of CO₂. The results of intensity and self-broadening measurements are compared to available databases, ab initio calculations and previous experimental determinations. Finally, we discuss the current development of the tunable diode laser absorption spectrometer instrument, a laser diode sensor devoted to the in situ measurement of H₂O and CO₂ in the Martian atmosphere. PACS 07.57.Ty; 07.87.+v     

Ultrahigh resolution far-infrared spectroscopy of methanol

Seventy-eight absorption lines, located in an extremely crowded portion of the CH₃OH spectrum, have been measured with a tunable coherent FIR spectrometer, based on third order mixing in a point contact diode. The high experimental resolution (20 kHz) allows the separation of overlapping lines observed with a Fourier transform spectrometer. Comparisons with previous Fourier transform measurements and theoretical predictions are presented. A separate measurement reveals that the 170 μm laser line of CH₃OH is very close to a strong absorption line, possibly explaining the peculiar Stark behavior of the laser line and a large reported apparent pressure shift.     

Heterodyne frequency measurements on carbonyl sulfide near 1050 cm

Heterodyne techniques have been used to measure the frequency differences between carbonyl sulfide (OCS) absorption lines and CO₂ laser transitions. A tunable diode laser was used both to scan the OCS absorption spectrum and to provide a beat signal against a CO₂ laser. Frequency differences as great as 8.6 GHz were measured. Many different OCS hot-band transitions were measured near 1050 cm⁻¹, and the measurements on the 02⁰0-00⁰0 band have been extended to such high J levels (J′ = 86) that higher-order centrifugal distortion terms are needed to fit the data.     

Experimental investigation of the nonequilibrium velocity distribution function in a heat conducting gas

Preliminary measurements of the nonequilibrium velocity distribution function in a heat conducting gas have been carried out using a Doppler broadened absorption line. The experimental technique, which uses the coincidence of a Stark tunable line of NH₂D and the CO₂ P(20) laser frequency, is described. For molecular velocities that are not too high, the results are in good agreement with the Chapman-Enskog solution of the Boltzmann equation.     

New CW FIR laser lines obtained in ammonia pumped by a CO2 laser, using the Stark tuning method

We report fifty seven CW FIR emissions observed in NH₃, by resonant pumping with a CO₂ laser. Exact coincidences between IR absorption lines of the gas and emission lines of the CO₂ laser have been carried out by Stark tuning. IR frequency shifts, up to 30 GHz, have allowed the pumping of forty three NH₃ transitions.These FIR emissions correspond to thirty one different wavelengths in the 50–400 m range; eighteen ones of them are new emitted wavelengths by pumping with the CO₂ laser.     

Fast and sensitive time-multiplexed gas sensing of multiple lines using a miniature telecom diode laser between 1529 nm and 1565 nm

High-sensitive multi-species detection around 1550 nm using a modulated grating Y-branch, MG-Y, diode laser tunable between 1529 nm and 1565 nm is presented. The MG-Y diode laser is based on the Vernier effect of two modulated gratings, and exhibits quasi-continuous tuning over 36 nm. Multi-species detection is achieved by fast sequential scanning of single absorption lines of CH₄, CO, C₂H₂, and CO₂ distributed over the tuning range of the diode laser. The laser wavelength is scanned about 10 GHz around each absorption line for 5 ms and this is followed by a discrete large jump in operating wavelength to the next line.     

Narrowing broadening and shifting parameters for R(2) and P(14) lines in the HCl fundamental band perturbed by N2 and rare gases from tunable diode laser spectroscopy

High resolution measurements of room temperature absorption with a controlled tunable diode laser (TDL) spectrometer have been made for R(2) and P(14) lines in the HCl fundamental band perturbed by N₂, Xe, Ar and He at pressures lower than one atmosphere. Pressure broadening, shift and collisional narrowing parameters have been extracted by least-squares fitting of several collisional profiles to the spectra. Asymmetries are observed for P(14) broadened by Xe at the lowest pressures and attributed to correlations between velocity- and phase-changing collisions.     

Evaluation of ammonia absorption coefficients by photoacoustic spectroscopy for detection of ammonia levels in human breath

Photoacoustic spectroscopy represents a powerful technique for measuring extremely low absorptions independent of the path length and offers a degree of parameter control that cannot be attained by other methods. We report precise measurements of the ammonia absorption coefficients at the CO₂ laser wavelengths by using a photoacoustic (PA) cell in an extracavity configuration and we compare our results with other values reported in the literature. Ammonia presents a clear fingerprint spectrum and high absorption strengths in the CO₂ wavelengths region. Because more than 250 molecular gases of environmental concern for atmospheric, industrial, medical, military, and scientific spheres exhibit strong absorption bands in the region 9.2–10.8 μm, we have chosen a frequency tunable CO₂ laser. In the present work, ammonia absorption coefficients were measured at both branches of the CO₂ laser lines by using a calibrated mixture of 10 ppm NH₃ in N₂. We found the maximum absorption in the 9 μm region, at 9R(30) line of the CO₂ laser. One of the applications based on the ammonia absorption coefficients is used to measure the ammonia levels in exhaled human breath. This can be used to determine the exact time necessary at every session for an optimal degree of dialysis at patients with end-stage renal disease.     

Laser stark spectroscopy ofSO2 with the HCN laser

The Far Infrared (FIR) laser Stark spectrum ofSO ₂ was investigated using the 337 m line of the HCN laser. Two distinct families, one originating at low field and the other at high field, were observed. The high field transition is identified as theJ _K–1,K+1=22_5,1721_4,18, v₂=1 transition. A significant fourth-order Stark shift was observed for this transition in the presence of a large second-order Stark shift. The zero-field frequency of the assigned transition was obtained by accounting for the fourth-order contribution.Present Adress: Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627.     

Electric field effects on an optically-pumped HCOOH FIR laser and Zeeman laser theory

Electric field effects have been investigated on the output power of six far-infrared (FIR) laser lines from H¹²COOH optically-pumped by a CO₂ laser with its polarization arranged perpendicular to the Stark field. Optoacoustic signals observed on the pump lines were hardly affected by the applied electric field up to 0.6 kV/cm. By neglecting the electric field effects on the pump transitions, Zeeman laser theory has been applied to the FIR laser transitions. Numerical calculation predicts the observed FIR output power as a function of electric field. Experessions for oscillation frequency and intensity in homogeneous limit are given, which may be applicable to any FIR Stark laser so far as the pump transition is free from electric field effects.     

New large offset far-infrared laser lines from CD3OH

The CD₃OH molecule has been investigated for new far-infrared laser lines by optically pumping with a cw waveguide CO₂ laser. The increased tunability (300 MHz) with respect to a conventional CO₂ laser permits to pump many new CD₃OH lines. As a consequence 108 new laser lines have been discovered, ranging from 42.9 to 1155 m in wavelength. On some lines the effect of an electric Stark field has been investigated demonstrating a laser frequency tuning. The total number of known FIR laser lines from CD₃OH is increased to about 340 making this molecule the most prolific together with CH₃OH.     

Emission Spectra Inside the Ammonia s-Multiplets Pumped by a Line-Narrowed Tunable CO2 Laser

By using a line narrowed high power tunable laser we have analysed the FIR emission spectrum inside some , compact sQ, sR k-multiplets. Jumps between adjacent k-systems are observed , although tunable emissions of dominant lines are produced. The more favourable gain overlap of the K Raman lines in the fundamental vibrational level induces an off-resonance dominance of this process respect to the standard Raman scattering in the excited vibrational level. The AC Stark splitting has been also observed when the CO₂ laser is posed in resonance with the absorption lines.     

Infrared diode laser absorption features of N2O and CO2 in a laval nozzle

Design and operation of a pulsed Laval nozzle and the characterization of molecular flow through such a nozzle using IR tunable diode laser (TDL) is the central theme of this work. The results here deal with He diluted N₂O and CO₂ gaseous systems. Boltzmann type plots of the spectral intensity data of both N₂O and CO₂ show non-linear behaviour. We have attempted to understand this non-linear behaviour of Boltzmann plots in terms of (1) instability in the jet and (2) a two-temperature model for the flowing gas, a cold central core and a hot boundary layer close to the nozzle walls. The model based on jet instability represents the data somewhat poorer than the two-temperature model. The parameters derived from fitting our experimental data to the former model could be used to calculate the thermodynamic parameters only through further approximations. Measured absorption line profile of the P(15) line of the v ₂ band of N₂O as a function of axial distance from the nozzle exit gradually shifts from a Lorentzian to a Gaussian type. Velocity distribution of N₂O molecules in a Laval nozzle is determined by differentiating the absorption line profile of the P(15) line (v ₀=576.235 cm^–1) of the v ₂ band of N₂O. Translational temperature of N₂O molecules is determined from the observed spectral profiles.