Abstract

Nanosecond-pulsed optical parametric oscillator (OPO) devices are versatile sources of tunable coherent radiation,^1-3 but their spectroscopic utility tends to be hindered by a trade-off between spectral bandwidth and complexity. The optical bandwidth of a simple free-running OPO is typically tens of cm^–1 and unsuitable for many spectroscopic purposes. Narrowband OPO operation often relies on elaborate designs involving intracavity gratings and etalons.³ We describe relatively simple procedures enabling control of a continuously tunable pulsed OPO, with effective optical bandwidths ranging (according to spectroscopic application) from several cm^–1 down to ~0.01 cm^–1. These techniques are demonstrable in various forms of atomic and molecular spectroscopy.^2,3

© 1995 IEEE