Frequency stable I-2 Raman laser excited by a cw frequency doubled monolithic Nd : YAG laser

Continuous Raman laser operation with I-127(2), (II)-I-127-I-129 and I-129( 2) molecules, excited by a frequency doubled diode pumped monolithic Nd:YAG ring laser is reported. Within the tuning range of the pump laser, the mol ecules possess several absorption transitions, which so far enabled laser o peration on more than 50 lines in the spectral range of 544-1330 nm. Multi- line and single-line operation in standing wave and ring resonators have be en investigated. With pump powers of up to 500 mW, output powers up to 10 m W on individual lines were possible. Due to the narrow Raman gain profiles (down to 100 kHz) and the narrow pump laser line width of 10 kHz of the Nd: YAG, correspondingly narrow Raman laser line widths are expected. Therefore , with the pump laser stabilized on a specific hyperfine iodine absorption transition and a frequency locking of the Raman laser resonator to the indu ced Raman gain profile, a system with many reference laser lines and with e xpected frequency stabilities of delta v/v approximate to 10(-10) can be re alized. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.