Abstract

The Raman shifting technique has been used extensively to widen the spectral coverage for various laser applications. The first Ba(NO₃)₂ Raman laser in the visible region was reported in 1986.¹ However, most of the recent research on Ba(N03)2 have focused on creating eye-safe IR sources.^2,3 Preliminary experiments at NASA LaRC suggested that a Ba(NO₃)₂ Raman laser could serve as a compact solid-state replacement to other lasers in an ozone lidar system.⁴ A Ba(NO₃)₂ Raman laser pumped at 532 nm by a frequency-doubled Nd: YAG laser can create first Stokes laser output at 563 nm and second Stokes at 599 nm. Using a frequency doubler, UV output at 281 nm and 299 nm can be obtained, providing on-line and off-line pairs for an ozone DIAL system. This all solid-state system will be compact and has great potential to be highly efficient and reliable. These attributes are very important for airborne or spacebome lidar.

© 1996 Optical Society of America