Abstract.
Optical parametric oscillator (OPO) and amplifier (OPA) devices are useful for spectroscopic sensing of chemical processes in laboratory, industrial, and environmental settings. This is particularly true of nanosecond-pulsed, continuously tunable OPO/OPA systems, for which we survey a variety of instrumental strategies, together with actual spectroscopic measurements. The relative merits of OPO wavelength control by intracavity gratings and by injection seeding are considered. A major innovation comprises an OPO with a ring cavity based on periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) and injection-seeded by a single-mode tunable diode laser (TDL). Active cavity control by an ‘intensity dip’ method yields an optical bandwidth ≤0.005 cm-1 (150 MHz), which compares favourably with the performance of advanced grating-tuned OPO/OPA systems. A novel adaptation of this TDL-seeded PPLN OPO employs a compact, inexpensive multimode pump laser, with which it is still possible to obtain continuously tunable single-mode signal output. Cavity ringdown (CRD) spectroscopy also figures prominently, with infrared (IR) CRD spectra from both grating-scanned and TDL-seeded OPOs reported. Finally, a tunable ultraviolet (UV) source, combining a TDL-seeded passive-cavity OPO and a sum-frequency generation stage, is developed for measurements of time-resolved IR-UV double resonance spectra of acetylene and UV laser-induced fluorescence spectra of nitric oxide.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received: 28 March 2000 / Published online: 13 September 2000
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baxter, G., Payne, M., Austin, B. et al. Spectroscopic diagnostics of chemical processes: applications of tunable optical parametric oscillators. Appl Phys B 71, 651–663 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/s003400000391
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s003400000391