Nanosecond Laser Systems

Laser flash photolysis is a common method of probing photochemical reactions. A short pulse of laser light of a frequency which sample molecules absorb can promote large numbers of those molecules into excited states, from which they can fluoresce, react, or dissipate the excitation as heat. The growth and decay of concentrations of molecular species can be observed by optical absorption spectroscopy, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, resonance Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence yields, microwave conductivity, or electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. The characteristics of a number of lasers used for these purposes are described below.

Laser Cluster for Time-Resolved Photochemistry
· Nitrogen laser (337 nm / 6 ns)
· kinetic absorption spectroscopy
· fluorescence lifetimes
· 2-pulse experiments
· Excimer laser (308 nm / 20 ns)
· kinetic absorption spectroscopy
· 2-pulse experiments
· YAG laser (266, 355, & 532 nm / 6 ns)
· kinetic absorption spectroscopy
· fluorescence lifetimes
· microwave conductivity
· diffuse reflectance
· 2-pulse experiments

Laser Cluster for Inorganic Photochemistry
· Excimer laser (248 & 351 nm / 20 ns)
· kinetic absorption spectroscopy
· magnetic field effects
· 2-pulse experiments
· YAG laser (266, 355, & 532 nm / 6 ns)
· magnetic circular dichroism
· 2-pulse experiments

Laser Cluster for Time-Resolved Resonance Raman
· Dye laser (pumped by 308 nm excimer laser / 20 ns)
· Nitrogen laser (337 nm / 6 ns) GONE?
· Excimer laser (308 nm / 20 ns)

Time-Resolved Electron Spin Resonance
· Excimer laser (308 nm / 20 ns)

Fluorescence Laboratory
· YAG laser (355 & 532 nm / 0.1 ns / 5 kHz)
· fluorescence lifetimes (single-photon counting)

Supported by the Division of
Chemical Sciences
Office of
Basic Energy Sciences
at the
U.S. Department of Energy

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Last Modified: 06/28/2010