Abstract

The frequency ratio of the fundamental 6940-Å radiation from a pulsed ruby optical maser and the second harmonic generated in piezoelectric crystals has been investigated by comparing the wavelengths of the first and second harmonics with known thorium spectral lines on photographs taken with a 15 000 lines-per-inch grating spectrometer. Two piezoelectric crystals, potassium dihydrogen phosphate and quartz, and one ferroelectric crystal, triglycine sulfate, were used to generate the second harmonic. In each case the generated second harmonic is twice the frequency of the primary radiation to within the limits imposed by the linewidth of the primary radiation and the resolution of the instrument. These restrictions limit the accuracy of the experiment to ±3 parts per million (ppm) for KDP, ±6 ppm for quartz, and ±4 ppm for TGS. Some spectral characteristics of high-energy pulses from the ruby optical maser as they might affect this experiment are given.

© 1962 Optical Society of America

Optical Harmonic Generation in Two Ferroelectric Crystals

Archibald W. Smith
Appl. Opt. 3(1) 147-150 (1964)

Measurements of Second Harmonic Generation of the Ruby Laser Line in Piezoelectric Crystals

Albert Savage and Robert C. Miller
Appl. Opt. 1(5) 661-664 (1962)

Ruby Optical Maser as a Raman Source

S. P. S. Porto and D. L. Wood
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(3) 251-252 (1962)

Ruby Optical Maser as a Raman Source

S. P. S. Porto and D. L. Wood
Appl. Opt. 1(S1) 139-141 (1962)

Quantum Mechanical Description of Maser Action at Optical Frequencies

Yoh-Han Pao
J. Opt. Soc. Am. 52(8) 871-878 (1962)