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Cotnoir, L. J.

Publications and source records attributed to Cotnoir, L. J..

4 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1989

A laser spectrometer and wavemeter for pulsed lasers

The design, construction, calibration, and evaluation of a pulsed laser wavemeter and spectral analyzer are described. This instrument, called the Laserscope for its oscilloscope-like display of laser spectral structure, was delivered to NASA Langley Research Center as a prototype of a laboratory instrument. The key component is a multibeam Fizeau wedge interferometer, providing high (0.2 pm) spectral resolution and a linear dispersion of spectral information, ideally suited to linear array photodiode detectors. Even operating alone, with the classic order-number ambiguity of interferometers unresolved, this optical element will provide a fast, real-time display of the spectral structure of a laser output. If precise wavelength information is also desired then additional stages must be provided to obtain a wavelength measurement within the order-number uncertainty, i.e., within the free spectral range of the Fizeau wedge interferometer. A Snyder (single-beam Fizeau) wedge is included to provide this initial wavelength measurement. Difficulties in achieving the required wide-spectrum calibration limit the usefulness of this function.

Mckay, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Raman-shifted dye laser for water vapor DIAL measurements

For improved DIAL measurements of water vapor in the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere, narrowband (about 0.03/cm) laser radiation at 720- and 940-nm wavelengths was generated by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), using the narrow linewidth (about 0.02/cm) output of a Nd:YAG-pumped dye laser. For a hydrogen pressure of 350 psi, the first Stokes conversion efficiencies to 940 nm were 20 percent and 35 percent, when using a conventional and waveguide Raman cell, respectively. The linewidth of the first Stokes line at high cell pressures, and the inferred collisional broadening coefficients, agree well with those previously measured in spontaneous Raman scattering.

Grossmann, B. E.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Linewidth characteristics of Raman-shifted dye laser output at 720 and 940 nm

Raman conversion efficiency and line broadening are reported for Stokes operation at 720 and 940 nm, with hydrogen and deuterium as the Raman source, and using an Nd:YAG pumped Quanta-Ray PDL-2 dye laser. The dye laser linewidth is 0.2/cm (FWHM) with the grating alone as an intracavity element, and the conversion efficiency at 400 psi was found to be 40 and 20 percent for outputs of 720 and 940 nm, respectively. Pressure broadening coefficients of (9.2 + or - 0.9) x 10 to the -5th per cm/psi for hydrogen, and 7.7 x 10 to the -5th per cm/psi for deuterium, were obtained in good agreement with previous results. The linewidth at the first Stokes wavelength was shown to be determined by pressure broadening in the Raman medium.

Grossmann, B. E.↗