LASER switching

Combining a laser switching technique demonstrated earlier, " with the irradiation of an appropriate rf field, Rand et aL observed spin decoupling and line narrowing in the optical transition of Pr in LaFa... 

The dynamic behavior of the optical-field-in-duced Freedericksz transition is also analogous to the dc case. The initial response of the induced molecular reorientation to the laser switch-on and the long-time response to the laser switch-off are both exponential with relaxation times Tqjj and Toff, respectively. 

Chandrasekhar, P., "Polymers for Activated Laser Switching", Chapter 3.7 (p. 529) in Arshady, R. (Ed.), Desk R erence of Functional Polymers Syntheses and Applications, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, USA (1997). 

In order to achieve a reasonable signal strength from the nonlinear response of approximately one atomic monolayer at an interface, a laser source with high peak power is generally required. Conuuon sources include Q-switched ( 10 ns pulsewidth) and mode-locked ( 100 ps) Nd YAG lasers, and mode-locked ( 10 fs-1 ps) Ti sapphire lasers. Broadly tunable sources have traditionally been based on dye lasers. More recently, optical parametric oscillator/amplifier (OPO/OPA) systems are coming into widespread use for tunable sources of both visible and infrared radiation. 

An interferometric method was first used by Porter and Topp [1, 92] to perfonn a time-resolved absorption experiment with a -switched ruby laser in the 1960s. The nonlinear crystal in the autocorrelation apparatus shown in figure B2.T2 is replaced by an absorbing sample, and then tlie transmission of the variably delayed pulse of light is measured as a fiinction of the delay This approach is known today as a pump-probe experiment the first pulse to arrive at the sample transfers (pumps) molecules to an excited energy level and the delayed pulse probes the population (and, possibly, the coherence) so prepared as a fiinction of time. 

The importance of laser light, in brief, is tliat its base characteristics, coherence, spectral and polarization purity, and high brilliance allow us to manipulate its properties. Gain switching [i, 10] and mode locking [16] are prime examples of our ability to very specifically control tire laser output. It is easy to see why lasers are tire ideal sources for optoelectronic applications. 

The most useful direct modulation teclmique is the current gain switching of semiconductor laser devices. This technique is unique to semiconductor sources, nearly all other lasers are modulated externally. In tliese devices tire excitation current of tire laser is modulated, resulting in modulated gain and tlierefore modulated output power. A detailed analysis of tliis process is found in [27]. Simply put, an oscillating current of tire fonn... 

Although 0-switching produces shortened pulses, typically 10-200 ns long, if we require pulses in the picosecond (10 s) or femtosecond (10 s) range the technique of mode locking may be used. This technique is applicable only to multimode operation of a laser and involves exciting many axial cavity modes but with the correct amplitude and phase relationship. The amplitudes and phases of the various modes are normally quite random. 

Hyper Raman scattering is at a wavenumber 2vq v r, where Vq is the wavenumber of the exciting radiation and —v r and +V[jr are the Stokes and anti-Stokes hyper Raman displacements, respectively. The hyper Raman scattering is well separated from the Raman scattering, which is centred on Vq, but is extremely weak, even with a 0-switched laser. 

The practical use of photochromic dyes as memory layers in erasable and rewritable data storage disks fails not only because of their physical limitations (lacking sensitivity, insufficient stabiHty, low number of cycles), but also because the diode lasers required for switching in the visible range (wavelength between 450 and 600 nm) and the uv-range (around 350 nm) are not available. 

Fig. 4. Temporal pulse characteristics of lasers (a) millisecond laser pulse (b) relaxation oscillations (c) Q-switched pulse (d) mode-locked train of pulses, where Fis the distance between mirrors and i is the velocity of light for L = 37.5 cm, 2L j c = 2.5 ns (e) ultrafast (femtosecond or picosecond) pulse.

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