Modeling, measuring, and minimizing the instrument response function of a tunable diode laser spectrometer

The instrument response function (IRF) of a spectrometer limits the accuracy of measured spectroscopic parameters by broadening recorded spectral lines/features. We describe methods to model the effects of the IRF on spectral data, to minimize the IRF widths, and to measure the resulting width of the spectrometer IRF. We have modeled the IRF of our Tunable Diode Laser Spectrometer as a Voigt function. A real-time method of eliminating the effects of low-frequency spectrometer drift has been implemented and has resulted in a substantial reduction in the width of the IRF, its residual Gaussian component reduced from about to about . An accurate measurement of the IRF Gaussian width utilizes a computationally simple method making use of the spectral dependence of the RMS noise of each signal-averaged data point. Various noise sources affecting the spectrometer (preamp/detector noise, laser AM noise, and laser FM noise) are identified and separately quantified by use of the same method. The IRF Gaussian-width measurement can be automatically applied to each measured spectrum of an experimental data set. A related method is discussed which allows accurate determination of the spectral dependence of statistical noise appropriate for use in quantitative Chi-square fitting of absorption spectra. We explore simple, efficient numerical processes which can dramatically enhance the quality and usefulness of acquired spectral data, improving the ability to apply TDL spectroscopy to high-precision, quantitative measurements and the determination of detailed spectroscopic lineshape parameters. This paper provides a guide for interested readers to implement these developments in their own spectrometers.     

Modulation Characteristics of Tunable Quantum-Well Heterolasers at the Radiation Frequency Tuning

The influence of the tuning of the radiation frequency of quantum-well heterolasers within the limits of their amplification band on the output laser radiation parameters at different frequencies of pump-current modulation has been numerically simulated using two optical models of an active medium under the assumption that the excess of the invariable component of the pump current over its threshold value at any point of the amplification band is constant. It has been established that the amplitude-detuning characteristics of the lasers studied are linear at high current-modulation frequencies and nonlinear at medium ones. The behavior of the nonlinear spectral response of a laser diode is explained by its multiresonance structure and is mainly determined by the ratio between the pump-current modulation frequency and the maximum resonance frequency of the laser. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 72, No. 4, pp. 473–478, July–August, 2005.     

High-power continuous-wave operation of a diode-pumped laser at

The continuous-wave laser properties of an efficient diode-pumped Nd:GdVO₄ crystal operating at formed with a simple plane-concave cavity have been studied. With the incident pump power of 21 W, an output power of 6.9 W was obtained, giving an optical conversion efficiency of 32.8% and a slope efficiency of 35.3%. The laser characterization of two different Nd³⁺-doped concentration of Nd:GdVO₄ crystals were studied.     

1.55-μm InGaAs/InGaAlAs MQW vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers with InGaAlAs/InP distributed Bragg reflectors

High-performance InGaAs/InGaAlAs multiple-quantum-well vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with InGaAlAs/InP distributed Bragg reflectors are proposed for operation at the wavelength of . The lasers have good heat diffusion characteristic, large index contrast in DBRs, and weak temperature sensitivity. They could be fabricated either by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) or by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth. The laser light-current characteristics indicate that a suitable reflectivity of the DBR on the light output side in a laser makes its output power increase greatly and its lasing threshold current reduce significantly, and that a small VCSEL could output the power around its maximum for the output mirror at the reflectivity varying in a broader range than a large VCSEL does.     

Determination of molecular parameters for 1,3-butadiene and propylene using infrared tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy

A technique has been developed for the determination of molecular parameters, including infrared absorption line positions, strengths, and nitrogen-broadened half-widths for 1,3-butadiene (C(4)H(6)) and propylene (C(3)H(6)). The parameters for these two molecules are required for quantitation using Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS). These molecules have populations of highly overlapping infrared absorption lines in their room temperature spectra. The technique reported here provides a procedure for estimating the molecular parameters for these overlapping absorption lines from quantitative reference spectra taken with the TDLAS instrument at different pressures and concentrations. The system was developed for the quantitation of gaseous constituents in a single puff of cigarette smoke and this paper will describe the procedure and some of the factors that influence the accuracy of quantitation for 1,3-butadiene, including the approach taken to minimize the adverse effects of the absorption due to propylene in the same spectral region.     

Influence of Low-Intensity Laser Radiation on the Rheological Characteristics of Human Blood

The influence of low-intensity laser radiation (LLR) on the rheological characteristics of human blood has been investigated. The results of the investigation of the blood velocity in the human skin capillaries, the erythrocyte aggregation time, and the spectral width of scattering intensity fluctuations depending on the irradiation time are presented. It has been shown that laser irradiation leads to a decrease in the degree of aggregation of erythrocytes and, accordingly, to an increase in the velocity of blood microcirculation, which can be used for laser therapy and diagnostics and treatment of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). To explain the results obtained, a method of the LLR–biotissue interaction is proposed.     

“神光Ⅱ”装置激光输出波形的数值模拟

推广应用“激光放大一维问题的解”的计算方法,模拟计算了“神光Ⅱ”装置激光束放大链的传输波形,并与实验结果进行比较,符合较好. 为功率平衡的研究提供了有力工具. 关键词： 模拟计算 激光束 波形 功率平衡     

Early Gravity-Wave Detection Experiments, 1960-1975

I discuss the experiments of Joseph Weber (1919-2000) of the University of Maryland between 1960 and 1973 that were aimed at the detection of gravity waves. He used throughout a quadratic detector to demodulate his antenna signal, which I analyze and compare to a linear detector.The latter was used by all of the other groups that entered the field. Of these, Richard Garwin and I at IBM were one of the first groups to publish, and I discuss in detail our experiments between 1973 and 1975. I then discuss the experiments that were carried out at Bell Labs-Rochester, Glasgow, Munich-Frascati,Moscow, and Tokyo. I compare the results, all of which were negative, with Webers claimed detection of large numbers of gravity-wave events, as many as seven per day. I conclude that these were not in fact gravity waves, but artifacts of his extremely hands-on data-analysis procedures, which I discuss in detail. Finally, I speculate on how this came about.     

The mechanism for SEU simulation by pulsed laser

~~The mechanism for SEU simulation by pulsed laser~~     

Line profile study with tunable diode laser spectrometers

In this paper, we present the different theoretical line profiles, which can be used to describe a shape of molecular transitions in dilute gases: the Voigt, Galatry, Rautian and speed dependence models. We discuss their limitations and their advantages, and present for illustration different comparisons of model results with experimental data obtained with several diode laser spectrometers suitable for precise line shape measurements.