Tunable UV lasers and their applications

Tunable sources of coherent ultraviolet radiation are required for remote atmospheric sensing, chemical and biological species detection, photolithography, and high resolution spectroscopy. For applications which require a compact, rugged device, an all-solid-state source is desirable. Two solid-state approaches for generating coherent UV radiation include direct lasing of gain media such as Ce3+:LiSrAlF6 (Ce3+:LiSAF) and frequency tripling of a tunable, near infrared laser source such as Cr3+:LiSrAlF6 (Cr3T:LiSAF). In this paper, the physical properties, laser performance, and relevant advantages of each of these laser systems are discussed.