Second-Generation Laser Experiments in Undergraduate Laboratories

虽然激光器（氦氖激光器、氮激光器和染料激光器）已经在本科教学中用于进行第一代激光实验，但具有高脉冲能量和优异光束质量的Nd:YAG激光器的可用性为第二代激光实验铺平了道路。化学系和物理系正在迈出重要的一步，将第二代激光实验纳入实验室课程，使用Nd:YAG激光器。六项先进的激光实验最初作为研究项目，后来作为常规实验纳入实验课（物理、有机和无机化学以及光学）。这些实验改编自最近的教育资源（例如《化学教育杂志》）和研究文献。Nd:YAG， YAG泵浦染料激光器和FTIR光谱仪的综合使用为本科生提供了广泛的高级实验，涵盖气相，非线性和低温光谱领域。实验包括氢、氘、氮和氧的受激拉曼散射（SRS）；空气的相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射；火焰中OH自由基的时间分辨激光诱导荧光（LIF）低温基质辅助光解（LTMAP）有机金属；二苯甲酮的光还原；有机分子的常规拉曼光谱（CRS）和红外光谱。它们中的大多数使用计算机接口、箱车平均器和前置放大器以及单色仪和光电倍增管来扫描、收集和分析光谱数据。这使学生在非黑箱学习环境中接触到先进的激光和基于计算机的数据采集技术。总的来说，这些实验提升了光学实验室（物理），并加强了物理、有机、无机化学和光学课程。

Chemistry (12) While lasers (helium-neon, nitrogen, and dye lasers) have been used in undergraduate pedagogy to conduct first-generation laser experiments, the availability of Nd:YAG lasers, with high pulse energy and superior beam quality, have paved the way for second-generation laser experiments. The departments of chemistry and physics are taking the vital step of incorporating second generation laser experiments into the laboratory curriculum by using Nd:YAG lasers. Six advanced laser experiments are being introduced initially as research projects and later, as regular experiments, into the laboratory courses (physical, organic and inorganic chemistry and optics). These experiments are adapted from both recent educational sources (e.g. Journal of Chemical Education) and from the research literature. The integrated use of Nd:YAG, YAG pumped dye lasers and a FTIR spectrometer facilitates a wide range of advanced experiments for undergraduates, covering the areas of gas-phase, non-linear, and low-temperature spectroscopy. The experiments include stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) of hydrogen, deuterium, nitrogen and oxygen; coherent anti-Stokes Raman (CARS) scattering of air; time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of OH radicals in flame; low-temperature matrix assisted photolysis (LTMAP) of organometallics; photoreduction of benzophenone; and conventional Raman (CRS) and IR spectroscopy of organic molecules. Most of them use a computer interface, a boxcar averager and a pre-amplifier along with a monochromator and a photomultiplier tube to scan, collect and analyze the spectral data. This exposes students to advanced lasers and to computer-based data acquisition techniques in a non-black box learning environment. Collectively, these experiments upgrade the optics laboratory (physics) and enhance the curriculum in physical, organic, and inorganic chemistry and optics courses.