Abstract
Compact, inexpensive, grating-tuned pulsed single-mode oscillators of the type first described by Littman[1] have been demonstrated to be scannable over tens of wavenumbers. This approach uses a diffraction grating at grazing incidence as the frequency selective element that allows only a single longitudinal mode to oscillate in the laser cavity. Littman’s mechanical design[2] couples the scanning of the grating passband and frequency of the cavity modes in such a manner that the selected mode can be tuned continuously. While this design is quite elegant in theory, the mechanical tolerances necessary for broad scan ranges can not be obtained in practice.
© 1988 Optical Society of America
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