The frequency-sampling method is widely used to accommodate nonlinear laser tuning in swept-wavelength interferometric techniques such as optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) and swept-wavelength optical coherence tomography (OCT). In this paper we analyze the frequency-sampling method and identify two sources of sampling errors. One source of error is the limit of an underlying approx...

The mean lifetime w of the 4p' 'F7/2 level of Ar II has been measured using a variant of the collinear laser-beam —fast-ion-beam spectroscopy technique. Our variant requires no mechanical motion or laser frequency tuning. The result is ~=8.414+0.025 ns in agreement with an earlier, comparably precise, measurement based on a crossed laser —ion-beam technique. The result lies above all theoretica...

We propose and demonstrate a tunable erbium-based fiber ring laser with power-equalized output. When a mode-restricting intracavity fiber Fabry-Perot tunable filter (FFP-TF) is combined, the proposed resonator can guarantee a tunable laser oscillation. This proposed laser can obtain the flatter lasing wavelength in an effectively operating range of 1533.3 to 1574.6 nm without any other operatin...

High-speed, high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging of the human retina is demonstrated using a frequency-swept laser at 850 nm. A compact external cavity semiconductor laser design, optimized for swept-source ophthalmic OCT, is described. The laser enables an effective 16 kHz sweep rate with >10 mm coherence length and a tuning range of approximately 35 nm full width at half...

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We demonstrate a multiple-channel, mode-locked, all-solid-state Cr:forsterite laser. By inserting an etalon into the laser cavity, we have generated 12 phase-locked channels with 9-19-ps pulse width near 1230 nm with 280-mW average output power from a single laser oscillator. By tuning the etalon bandwidth we can shorten the pulse width in a specific channel to 1.8 ps.

Widely tuneable laser diodes operating in the 1520 ≤ λ ≤ 1570 nm are characterised and compared for use as sources for tuneable laser diode gas absorption spectroscopy. Three gases hydrogen cyanide, ammonia and acetylene with overlapping absorption features within the 50 nm tuning range of the devices were targeted employing wavelength modulation spectroscopy with second harmonic detection.

A compact cw Tm,Ho:YLF laser with single-mode tunability over +/4 GHz has been developed into a modular unit containing an isolator and photomixer for offset tuning of the LO from a master oscillator which controls the frequency of a Doppler lidar transmitter. This and an alternative diode laser LO will be described,

We report on a method for characterizing the tuning capabilities of small-bandwidth external-cavity diode lasers. The step response of a piezo-driven Littman-Metcalf external-cavity diode laser and the compensation of its optoelectromechanical frequency response is investigated. When an approximately 50-V compensated Gaussian pulse is applied to the piezo element, a detuning of 13.6 GHz is obse...

Ultraviolet (UV) miniature cerium fluoride lasers have been demonstrated using a low cost, frequency-quadrupled microchip Nd:YAG pump laser. The use of miniature laser cavities was shown to significantly improve the laser performance in the low pump power region. We have achieved slope efficiencies up to 70% and pump thresholds as low as 100 nJ. Continuous tuning from 306 nm to 338 nm was achie...