They propose to design, build, develop, and characterize a new narrowband, broadly tunable, pulsed, solid state laser source based on the newly emerging alexandrite laser technology. Present day pulsed narrowband tunable laser sources of the type required for high resolution spectroscopy, photochemical studies, and analytical chemistry are based on dye laser technology and are relatively expensive and cumbersome to use. The proposed source, when completed, will provide new capabilities in spectral purity, pulse duration versatility, pulse energy and reliability. Perhaps most importantly, when augmented by nonlinear conversion methods based on stimulated raman scattering (SRS) and second and third harmonic generation, a general light source useful for chemical applications will become available that provides enormous cost benefits, reliability and operating simplicity over previous technology. This source, we believe, will greatly improve the amount of time researchers can spend on performing experiments rather than maintaining lasers and will permit multi laser experiments to be performed vastly more easily and at many more laboratories than is possible today.
