Equipment Grant: Argon Lasers Upgrade

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Four argon ion lasers are the primary source of energy for femtosecond laser research in our laboratories, as well as for numerous instructional graduate experiments. Each of these lasers have an annual usage in excess of 3,000 hours, which exceeds the lifetime of these older type laser tubes, predating the metal-ceramic technology, and therefore, each laser requires an annual tube replacement. This Research Equipment Grant is for a conversion of the two spectra physics 171 argon laser to the 2030T-20 metal-ceramic laser head, and replacement of a smaller laser by a single 2020 5W argon ion laser. These lasers will continue to be used for pumping femtosecond dye lasers, a parametric oscillator, and serve as primary source for 9 instructional experiments. The main thrust of the research is nonlinear optics of thin films and interfaces.