REMOTE SENSING USING AN AGGASE2 OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR

BECAUSE MAN IS LEARNING THAT THE EARTH'S ENVIRONMENT IS A FRAGILE SYSTEM, THE NEED FOR UNDERSTANDING MAN'S EFFECTS ON THIS SYSTEM IS GREATER THAN EVER. AN IDEAL METHOD TO OBTAIN VALUABLE INFORMATION ON ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTANTS IS THROUGH THE USE OF LIDAR. RESEARCHERS ARE USING A Q-SWITCHED HO:YAG LASER TO PUMP AN OPTICAL PARAMETRIC OSCILLATOR (OPO) WITH SILVER GALLIUM SELENIDE (AGGASE2) NONLINEAR CRYSTAL AS THE GAIN MEDIUM FOR THE GENERATION OF CONTINUOUSLY TUNABLE OUTPUT FROM 3 UM TO 12 UM. THIS LASER SYSTEM IS USED AS THE TRANSMITTER FOR A LIDAR SYSTEM TO DETECT ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTANTS. RESEARCHERS ARE DEVELOPING AN OPO SYSTEM TUNABLE FROM 3 TO 12 UM AND SOME PRELIMINARY LIDAR MEASUREMENTS.