Abstract

Passive heterodyne radiometry has been demonstrated to be a sensitive, high resolution technique for atmospheric sensing.¹,²,³ CO₂ LIDAR offers the potential for high vertical resolution measurements of trace gases.⁴ A Microwave Tunable Laser Source (MTLS) is described that exhibits attractive features for application as a heterodyne local oscillator and for injection locking of high pressure CO₂ lasers. The MTLS utilizes a wideband electro-optic modulator to generate tunable optical sidebands (SB) on a CO₂ laser carrier. Laser line selection and SB tuning allow precision, piecewise continuous tunability over an inportant atmospheric window (9 to 12 μm) with wavelength accuracy and stability limited only by the CO₂ laser.

© 1983 Optical Society of America