Fast and widely tunable monolithic optical parametric oscillator for laser spectrometer

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center has developed a faster and widely-tunable monolithic optical parametric oscillator for use in laser spectrometers. This technology provides a continuously-tunable spectrum across any target, adding flexibility to the overall instrument. In addition, only 1 nonlinear crystal and oscillator pump source are used, greatly simplifying the spectrometer system. For remote sensing spectrometers, wavelength-scanned laser emissions are used to capture the absorption spectrum of targets to perform measurement of soil and/or gas. Previous techniques to accomplish these measurements have involved combining multiple fixed wavelength lasers to detect a single species, limiting the scope and effectiveness of the instruments. This new technology alleviates this problem.