Near- and mid-infrared laser-optical sensors for gas analysis

Semiconductor diode lasers were first developed in the mid-1960s and found immediate application as much needed tunable sources for high-resolution laser spectroscopy commonly referred to as tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). In this paper, currently available semiconductor lasers for spectroscopy in the near- and mid-infrared spectral region based upon gallium arsenide, indium phosphite, antimonides and lead-salt containing compounds will be reviewed together with the main features of TDLAS. Room-temperature measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide near 2 μm will be discussed and recent results obtained with a fast chemical sensor for methane flux measurements based on lead-salt diode lasers operating near 7.8 μm will be presented.     

An airborne diode laser spectrometer for the simultaneous measurement of H2O and HNO3 content of stratospheric cirrus clouds

We describe a tunable diode laser spectrometer for the in situ simultaneous detection of the nitric acid and the water vapour by means of high resolution absorption spectroscopy on rovibronic lines, using a single laser emitting in the mid-infrared (5.8 μm) and a multipass cell. The instrument was designed to be installed on a high altitude aircraft, as a part of a composite payload for atmospheric aerosol studies. The instrument design criteria are discussed and the expected performances are compared with results of laboratory and field operation. Due to the high chemical activity of HNO₃, that makes difficult to use a reference cell, a fast sweep detection of direct absorption was used for the measurement. An absorption sensitivity of about 2×10⁻⁴ was achieved with an integration time of 2.5 s, corresponding to a concentration of about 4 ppb of HNO₃ in the cell and 0.1 ppb in the external aerosol. The data acquisition and processing techniques, based on the full molecular lineshape fitting are also shown and discussed, including some examples of the data acquired during the scientific flights.     

Studies on Nd:YAG Single-pass Amplifiers for High-power Q-switched Laser System

The output of Nd∶YAG single-pass laser amplifiers is studied analytically and experimentally. Methods of analysis for single-pass Nd∶YAG laser amplifier are presented. A flashlamp-pumped Q-switched Nd∶YAG oscillator/amplifier laser system has been developed with the average output power of 121.5 W.     

Active Q-switching of the Alexandrite laser

An alexandrite-laser rod was actively Q-switched in the transversal fundamental mode at λ = 758 nm with an double crystal KD^*P Pockels cell. Pulse width, pulse energy and optical pulse delay (the build-up time of the photon field in the resonator) were measured as functions of pumping energy, rod temperature and reflectivity of the output coupling mirror. As the laser gain of alexandrite strongly depends on temperature, the pulse width and pulse energy were also investigated as functions of the temperature of the active material. A comparison of experimental data with theory was made.     

Acoustooptic extension of the frequency tunability of CW CO2 lasers: New FIR lasers emissions from CH3OH and13CH3OH

We have increased the frequency tunability of our CW waveguide CO₂ lasers by means of an acoustooptic amplitude modulator, operating at the fixed frequency of 90 MHz. The up-shifted, or down-shifted, laser optical sideband can be generated independently by adjusting the orientation of the modulator. The efficiency is larger than 50%. The frequency tunability of the CO₂ laser around each laser line is thus increased by 180 MHz. To demonstrate the possibilities of this method, a source composed of the above modulator and of a CW, 300 MHz tunable waveguide CO₂ laser has been used for the search of new large offset FIR laser lines from optically pumped CH₃OH and¹³CH₃OH molecules. As a result 15 and 10 new large offset laser lines were discovered respectively. New assignments of some laser lines are also proposed. We have also measured the Stark effect, the offset, and the polarization of other already known lines. In particular a Stark effect frequency tuning of about 1 GHz is demonstrated for a laser line at 208.399 m.     

Optomechanical-organized multipulse dynamics in ultrafast fiber laser

A novel organized multipulse pattern and its birth dynamics under strong optomechanical effect in microfiber-assisted ultrafast fiber laser are investigated in this work. The background pulses are observed to obviously exhibit selectively amplifying self-organized process of evolving into quasi-stable equidistant clusters. The radio frequency spectrum of the multipulse pattern displays a harmonic mode-locking-like behavior with a repetition rate of 2.0138 GHz, corresponding to the frequency of torsional-radial (TR_2m) acoustic mode in microfiber. The results show the evidence of optomechanical effect in dominating the birth dynamics and pattern of multipulse.     

Assignment of laser lines in an optically pumped submillimeter and near millimeter laser: (H2CO)3

A large number of emissions is obtained in the submillimeter and near millimeter range with the (H₂CO)₃ laser optically pumped by a CO₂ laser. A study of the microwave absorption spectrum of the molecule carried out simultaneously with the submm analysis allows us to assign six of the laser lines in thev ₅ excited state of the molecule and to determine the rotational constants and vibrational energy ofv ₅.     

Far infrared surface plasmon propagation

New experimental evidence is presented which shows that, contrary to an earlier report, far-infrared surface plasmons at metal-air interfaces propagate long distances (tens of centimeters or longer).     

Mode structure in wideband waveguide radiofrequency CO2 lasers

We have analysed the mode structure of a wideband radiofrequency excited waveguide CO₂ laser by using different waveguide diameters and optical cavities. In particular we have observed the phase shift of some linear polarized waveguide modes in the transition region between the guided and the free Gaussian propagation.     

The use of 752.5 and 799.3 nm laser excitation in Raman spectroscopy

The two continuous wave lasers normally used for Raman spectroscopy are the argon and krypton ion lasers. These routinely provide step tuning between 459.9 and 676.4 nm. However, it is possible, using suitably coated mirrors, to obtain far red lines from the Kr⁺ laser at 752.5 and 799.3 nm.This additional capability offers advantages for Raman spectroscopy in the areas of fluorescence rejection, sample decomposition and resonance Raman spectroscopy.