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Laser Optics Lab

The Group:  The lab is directed by Dr. Stacey K. Vargas. Over the past six years the following cadets have worked in the group: Dan Dunn, Dan Hendrix, Kendra Russell, Chris Tyree, Nathan Wahlgren, C. Chat, Mihaela Guberovic, and Robert Serig. 

The Research:  We perform research projects which entail studying rare earth and transition metal ions doped into crystal host materials using optical and laser spectroscopy. These materials are of interest because of potential applications such as new laser materials and because of some fundamental physical properties.

In addition, we are working on a latent fingerprinting project which uses an Argon Ion laser to detect fingerprints.

The Equipment:  The lab is equipped with a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser (Spectra Physics GCR 150) with a 10 Hz repetition rate and 650 mJ of energy at the fundamental (1064nm). The laser also has frequency doubling (532nm) and tripling (355nm) capabilities. In addition, we have a continuous wave, air-cooled Argon Ion laser and a 30-watt deuterium lamp. We have constructed a pulsed dye laser that is pumped by the Nd:YAG laser. We also have KDP frequency doubling crystal for additional wavelength options.

We use photomultiplier tubes for detection. We have a Standford Research multichannel scalar average (SR430) for photon counting. We also have a computer-controlled monochromator (Acton Research Corp).

Cadet Research Projects  

  • Energy Transfer Between Gd3+ and Cr3+ in GGG:Cr3+, D. Dunn (98)
  • Holographic Interferometry, D. Hendrix (99)
  • Constructing a Pulsed-Dye Laser, K. Russell (01)
  • Latent Fingerprinting, C. Tyree (01)
  • Holography, N. Wahlgren (02)
  • Using a CCD to Image Latent Fingerprints, C. Chat (03)
  • Aligning and Operating a Pulsed-Dye Laser System, M. Guberovic (03)