Laser multipass system with interior cell configuration.
We ask whether it is possible to restore a multipass system alignment after a gas cell is inserted in the central region. Indeed, it is possible, and we report on a remarkably simple rearrangement of a laser multipass system, composed of two spherical mirrors and a gas cell with flat windows in the middle. For example, for a window of thickness d and refractive index of n, adjusting the mirror separation by ≈2d(1-1/n) is sufficient to preserve the laser beam alignment and tracing. This expression is in agreement with ray-tracing computations and our laboratory experiment. Insofar as our solution corrects for spherical aberrations, it may also find applications in microscopy.
Department of Physics, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, Michigan 49931, USA. jborysow@mtu.edu
Jacek
J
Borysow
Alexander
A
Kostinski
Manfred
M
Fink
D000042:Absorption; D000465:Algorithms; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D005740:Gases; D005898:Glass; D007834:Lasers; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D012030:Refractive Errors; D012031:Refractometry; D012984:Software; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000379:methods
D005740:Gases