NCUR-2001 Abstract | ||
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CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXTENDED CAVITY TUNABLE DIODE LASER
Instructions on the assembly of an extended-cavity tunable diode laser
are presented. Discussions of individual components as they appear
separate and as they contribute to the system are also given.
To obtain a finely tuned diode laser, temperature and current
controlling of the diode laser are used in conjunction with an extended
semiconductor cavity. Temperature controlling is achieved by mounting
the assembly atop a thermoelectric cooler (TEC), which uses the Peltier
effect to cool the assembly. Furthermore, the variation of the injection
current may be used as an additional control for the wavelength output
of the diode. However, this acts as more of a fine tuning mechanism.
The extended cavity consists of a diffraction grating adhered to a
mirror mount in the littrow configuration. This way, grating feedback is
also produced. Upon completion, the laser was specifically applied to
research in the areas of Second Harmonic Generation in a PPLN Crystal
(by a colleague) and Saturated Rubidium Spectroscopy by myself.
This study was supported in part by NSF grant PHY99-12312.
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