Computer Controlled CW Laser Spectrometer

A computer controlled cw UV–visible dye laser source for spectroscopic use has been developed. Computer control facilitates both continuous single-frequency scanning and data acquisition. With 4 W of Ar-ion laser pump power, such a spectrometer can generate in excess of 1 W of cw single-frequency power in the visible and up to 1 mW in the UV by using extracavity nonlinear optical mixing. The laser spectrometer has been tested by performing high-resolution measurements of the fluorescence spectrum of I2 in the visible and of the absorption spectrum of SO2 in the UV.