Tunable Laser Applications, 3rd Edition

Chapter 1

Introduction

F. J. Duarte

1.1 Introduction

The ability to yield tunable coherent radiation enhances the applicability of a given laser substantially. Indeed, tunable lasers are among the most studied and successful lasers known today. For instance, the first broadly tunable laser, the organic dye laser, introduced circa 1966 [1–4], has enjoyed a significant amount of attention directed toward the study of its inherent physical properties and technology [5–12]. At the same time, these organic lasers have had a profound impact on a plethora of fields, including physics, spectroscopy, laser isotope separation, medicine, and astronomy [6,13–16].

Today, the field of broadly tunable lasers includes an array of different lasers, which have ...