Pulsed Laser Spectroscopy

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Abstract
Since laser action was first achieved two decades ago, technological developments have improved the versatility of laser devices so that today we are able to design spectroscopic experiments largely without concern for the limitations of the irradiation source. Further, the development of laser techniques has presented new opportunities for spectroscopic research because of the new and unique properties of laser radiation. Much of the progress has been made possible through the development of tunable dye lasers and the new science of nonlinear optics. Lasers currently provide the purest, most intense sources of radiation while still offering tunability over a wide spectral range, in particular the region 150 to 11, 000 nm. Also, the special conditions of laser operation have allowed the generation of the shortest pulses known from any source of energy down to Fourier-transform-limited single pulses of ∼10−13 sec duration.