US 7,606,274 B2
Mid-IR instrument for analyzing a gaseous sample and method for using the same
Sergey Mirov, Birmingham, Ala. (US); Vladimir Fedorov, Birmingham, Ala. (US); and Igor Moskalev, Birmingham, Ala. (US)
Assigned to The UAB Research Foundation, Birmingham, Ala. (US)
Filed on Mar. 13, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/375,601.
Application 11/140271 is a division of application No. 10/247272, filed on Sep. 19, 2002, granted, now 6,960,486.
Application 11/375601 is a continuation in part of application No. 11/140271, filed on May 27, 2005.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/776242, filed on Feb. 23, 2006.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/774952, filed on Feb. 17, 2006.
Claims priority of provisional application 60/323551, filed on Sep. 20, 2001.
Prior Publication US 2007/0064748 A1, Mar. 22, 2007
Int. Cl. H01S 3/10 (2006.01)
U.S. Cl. 372—20  [372/23; 372/10; 372/12] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An optical nose system having a broadly tunable, narrow linewidth mid-IR laser source wherein the laser source has a modular structure and comprises
a) a tunable seed laser unit including a single-longitudinal mode, widely tunable TM2+:II-VI master oscillator with a TM2+:II-VI power amplifier having a laser output, where TM2+ stands for transition metal ion selected from the group consisting of Cr2+, Fe2+, Co2+ and Ni2+, and II-VI stands for ZnS, ZnSe, CdS, CdSe, ZnTe, CdTe and their mixtures wherein said seed laser is a broadly tunable single frequency laser without mode hoping which is comprised of Littrow or Littman dispersive cavity with accompanied by dynamic correction of cavity length;
b) a pulsed pump laser unit including a single-frequency, high energy, Q-switch laser having a laser output;
c) an Optical Parametric Generator-Amplifier, pumped by said pulsed pump laser unit and seeded by said seed tunable laser unit having a mid-IR output selectively variable over about 2 to 20 μm; and
wherein said pulsed pump and seed tunable lasers are pumped by a single diode, diode array, or fiber laser.