Acquisition of a solid-state laser, optical table and femtosecond pulse-measurement system for undergraduate research in optics

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This MRI award provides funds for the purchase of a solid-state laser, optical table, power meter and femtosecond pulse-measurement system for implementing undergraduate research projects in optics, including scattering, nonlinear optics, and ultrafast lasers. The research to be commenced with the equipment encompasses the following. (1) Scattering from spheres of nonlinear materials, including CdS and sapphire, to characterize nonlinear mechanisms, study self-pulsing behavior due to Kerr and photorefractive nonlinearities, and measure intensity-dependent high-order dispersion in these materials. (2) Studies of aberration-correction and pulse-compression using prisms and deformable mirrors in laser cavities. (3) Tests of non-standard mode-locking cavity designs using nonlinear materials. (4) Excitation of hollow-beam electromagnetic modes in cavities with non-spherical mirrors matching shapes computed from complex-source-point theory. (5) Measurements of laser emission from asymmetric, acoustically-levitated dye droplets. The equipment will enhance the undergraduate research program in optics at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University. CSB, a womens college, and SJU, for men, share a common curriculum with joint classes and departments. The physics department offers majors in physics and applied physics, emphasizing advanced laboratory experience and academic-year student-faculty research. Research in optics has been the most popular choice for majors in the past decade, and the majority of the students go on to graduate work in physics