We report on comparative properties in deep UV region of two types of tunable deep UV lasers for applications in resonance Raman lidar. The first type of the tunable deep UV laser is based on frequency doubling of the output of an optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by the third harmonics of a Q-Switched Nd-YAG laser. The second one is based on the generation of the third and fourth harmonics of a Ti:sapphire (Ti:S) laser, which is pumped by the second harmonics of a Q-Switched Nd-YAG laser. Also, we demonstrated the resonance Raman spectroscopic measurements of SO2 gas using these tunable deep UV lasers.
For Lidar technology that can identify the location of the target substances and measure spatial distribution, the establishment of that technology is required so that it can comprehensively provide remote measuring hazardous substances that cause harm to human bodies, such as toxic substances and combustible substances. Hazardous substances exist in a very wide range of forms, for example, chemical species, physical conditions, and organisms or inorganisms. In addition, substances developed for the purpose of attacking the human body, represented by nerve agents, exhibit their effects by a small amount. Therefore, in order to realize remote sensing of hazardous substances, it is necessary to apply an excellent measurement principle that can respond to the diversity and the detection of trace components of these objects. The Raman effect is a useful phenomenon that enables identification of many individual substances, but the extremely weak response has led to significant limitations in applicable fields. In this study, we conducted basic experiments for the realization of remote sensing technology of hazardous substances based on the resonance Raman effect. The resonance Raman effect is a phenomenon in which the intensity of Raman scattering light is greatly enhanced by excitation with light of a wavelength corresponding to the electronic transition energy of the target substance. The presence of electronic transition energy of substances can be confirmed by observing the ultraviolet absorption spectra. Many hazardous substances exhibit ultraviolet absorption in the deep ultraviolet wavelength region of 300 nm or less. Therefore, in this study, we constructed a resonance Raman spectrum measuring device capable of wavelength sweeping in the deep ultraviolet wavelength range, selected SO2 and NH3, typical corrosive gases, as target substance, and verified experimentally the enhancement of Raman signal intensity by resonance Raman effect.
We are investigating the output and temperature characteristics of Yb:YAG TRAM (Total-Reflection Active Mirror) laser using zero-phonon line excitation (969-nm pumping) and direct water jet cooling for efficient heat removal. The TRAM configuration has an advantage of cooling the surface of the Yb:YAG disk without the high-reflection coating. We have developed an efficient hydrodynamic cooling system, where the disk is directly cooled by impinging water jet with flow rate of up to 52 liter/min., while the water temperature can be controlled from 7 to 80 degrees Celsius. For the estimation of operating temperatures of the Yb:YAG, we measured fluorescence spectra from Yb:YAG using a spectrometer. We tested several types of TRAM with different layer thicknesses and doping concentrations, which were designed to absorb more than 80% of the pump power in a single bounce at room temperature. A fiber-coupled CW laser diode (FCLD) with 600 W output power at 969 nm was used as a pump source. The dependences of oscillator output power and the laser medium temperature on the cooling water temperature and flow rate were investigated. The direct impinging water jet at high flow rate was demonstrated to be effective for cooling the laser medium. It was also confirmed that the zero-phonon line excitation at 969-nm resulted in lower laser medium temperature and hence higher output power compared to the 940-nm pumping. In addition, we demonstrated kW-class laser oscillation using the cooling system and achieved slope efficiency of 63 %.
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