Intracavity LiNbO3 Fabry-Perot etalon for frequency stabilization and tuning of a single-mode quasi-continuous-wave titanium : sapphire ring laser

We describe an intracavity LiNbO3 Fabry-Perot etalon for frequency stabiliz ation and tuning of a single-mode quasi-continuous-wave Ti:Al2O3 ring laser . Taking into account the 150-mus pulse duration and the 40-Hz repetition r ate of our laser, we achieve stabilization by 266-kHz modulation of 100-V p eak-to-peak voltage applied to the electro-optic crystal. Tuning is ensured by the presence of a gain loop that contains a lock-in amplifier reacting with a multimorphous ceramic by means of 0-300-V de voltage, which causes s light rotation of the LiNbO3 Fabry-Perot etalon. A continuous frequency sca n of 6 GHz was made that potentially can be extended to 6 cm(-1). (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.