Tunable Laser Applications, 3rd Edition

Chapter 2

Spectroscopic Applications of Tunable Optical Parametric Oscillators

Brian J. Orr, John G. Haub, Yabai He, and Richard T. White

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 “Good-bye to Ti: and Dye”?

The corresponding chapter in the first edition of this book [1] was written in the mid-1990s, at a time when a prominent scientific laser manufacturer had advertised its latest optical parametric oscillator (OPO) with the motto “Good-bye to Ti: and Dye,” signaling the possible demise of tunable dye lasers that had served laser spectroscopists and others well for at least 20 years [2,3]. At that time, a book review speculated that solid-state tunable lasers “might relegate the dye laser to the pages of the history book,” counterpoised by a view that “the dye ...