SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

LITRON LASERS FOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

Pulsed Nd:YAG lasers have been used in various fields of scientific research since their invention in 1970. Their main characteristics of high peak power and narrow linewidth make them suitable as direct sources for experimentation or as pump sources for other sources to access different wavelengths. The ease with which visible and ultraviolet harmonics may be generated makes the Nd:YAG laser an especially versatile laboratory tool.

High peak powers available from Q-switched Nd:YAG systems enable nonlinear optical phenomena to be investigated, leading to the discovery of promising nonlinear optical materials such as harmonic generation crystals and optical parametric crystals. Litron’s pulsed Nd:YAG lasers have particularly good beam pointing stability, making them useful in Rayleigh scattering experiments on plasmas.

For experiments requiring narrow linewidth, or greater temporal coherence length, optional line narrowing etalons or an injection seeder for single longitudinal mode operation are available. Respectively, these increase the coherence length from around 1cm to 10cm to around 3m. Mostly used in holographic applications, the narrow linewidth is required for narrow band OPO pumping, while the smooth temporal profile of an injection seeded laser gives better performance in dye laser pumping applications.

Originally a laboratory curiosity, extreme ultraviolet wavelengths, achieved by exciting a highly ionized metal plasma are used in lithography to develop semiconductor chips with ever smaller features. EUV wavelengths are closer to x-rays, an order of magnitude lower than wavelengths available from direct UV laser sources.