Broadband External Cavity Diode Laser
U. S. Patent No. 7,245,642, issued July 17, 2007
Lasers for spectroscopy are usually operated as spectrally narrow devices, emitting just one wavelength at any given time. This results in high spectral brightness and resolving power. However, it is sometimes advantageous to record an entire spectrum at once. This can be done using light bulbs or LEDs as the optical source, but it is hard to form a tightly collimated beam with such sources, so it is difficult to achieve a long optical path or probe a small volume.
This invention provides a means of operating an external cavity diode laser so that it emits a broad range of wavelengths simultaneously. The figure shows a spectrum of acetylene that was obtained with such a laser by passing the beam through a monochromator after it passed through the gas sample. As can be seen, the useful laser emission covers the entire spectral band.
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