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PUBLICATIONS

Construction of a High Power OPO Laser system for Differential Absorption LIDAR

Published

Author(s)

Kevin O. Douglass, Stephen E. Maxwell, David F. Plusquellic, Joseph T. Hodges, Roger D. van Zee, Daniel V. Samarov, James R. Whetstone

Abstract

Our goal is to develop and characterize optical measurement technology to enable accurate quantification of greenhouse-gas emissions to meet the needs of industry and regulators. A 1064 nm pumped high energy optical parametric oscillator (OPO) operating from 1585 nm to 1646 nm was constructed for performing differential absorption LIDAR measurements of carbon dioxide, methane, and potentially nitrous oxide. The OPO uses a Rotated Image Singly-Resonant Twisted RectAngle (RISTRA) design. The commercially available RISTRA cavity is machined from a solid block of aluminum. The compact single piece cavity design requires no mirror adjustments and image rotation provides efficient conversion and excellent beam quality. The injection seeded OPO has demonstrated output energy of 45 mJ/pulse when pumped with 220 mJ/pulse of 1064 nm radiation. The pump laser has a repetition rate variable from 1 Hz to 100 Hz and a temporal pulse width of 4.2 ns. In the current configuration the seed laser is locked to a mode of the RISTRA cavity. The construction and performance of the OPO is discussed.
Proceedings Title
SPIE Lidar Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring XII conference proceedings
Volume
8159
Conference Dates
August 21-25, 2011
Conference Location
San Diego, CA
Pub Type
Conferences

Download Paper

https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894089

Keywords

DIAL, greenhouse gas, LIDAR, optical parametric oscillator, remote sensing
Analytical chemistry and Spectroscopy

Citation

Douglass, K. , Maxwell, S. , Plusquellic, D. , Hodges, J. , van, R. , Samarov, D. and Whetstone, J. (2011), Construction of a High Power OPO Laser system for Differential Absorption LIDAR, SPIE Lidar Remote Sensing for Environmental Monitoring XII conference proceedings, San Diego, CA, [online], https://doi.org/10.1117/12.894089 (Accessed October 8, 2025)

Issues

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Created September 13, 2011, Updated January 27, 2020
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