Tunable Laser Devised for UV Resonance Raman Spectroscopy

Researchers from Princeton University in New Jersey and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, have developed a solid-state kilohertz laser tunable from 205 to 230 nm. The instrument, described in Vol. 53, No. 10 of Applied Spectroscopy, promises to be a suitable laser source for time-resolved UV resonance Raman spectroscopy.

The setup comprises a frequency-quadrupled Ti:sapphire laser pumped by the second harmonic of a Q-switched Nd:YLF. The system produces >60 mW in the 210- to 230-nm range at 1 kHz, 4 mW at 205 nm and 16 mW at 206.5 nm.

The researchers have collected spectra of hemoglobin and the excitation profiles of aromatic acids, and they have selectively probed protein bands by tuning the laser's wavelength.