Tunable nonlinear-optical devices for laser-spectroscopic sensing

摘要

Generating coherent light via nonlinear optics drives many of our laser-spectroscopic sensing applications. For instance, narrowband tunable pulsed optical parametric oscillators (OPOs) controlled by injection seeding are used extensively for cavity-ringdown and coherent-Raman spectroscopies. In a high-precision OPO-based spectroscopic system, we employ a long-pulse (>25 ns) pump laser with optical-heterodyne diagnostics to log instantaneous frequency and chirp on a pulseby-pulse basis. In other work, we use photorefractive media for narrowband wavelength control of tunable diode lasers and pulsed OPOs. Additional prospective spectroscopic applications of tunable pulsed OPOs are also considered.