A narrowband Ti:Sapphire-based pulsed laser system for precise frequency metrology in the deep UV

We present a tunable and narrowband pulsed laser system that we have utilized in performing accurate frequency measurements in the deep UV region. We generate IR (790-850 nm) narrow-band pulses in an injection- seeded cavity with a Ti:Sapphire gain medium that is pumped by the second harmonic of a 10-Hz repetition rate Nd:YAG laser. The Ti:Sapphire oscillator cavity is stabilized by a Haensch-Couillaud scheme using the injection- seeding radiation from a cw Ti:Sapphire laser. Subsequent frequency calibrations are performed on the cw-seed radiation that is taken simultaneously with the UV-spectroscopy. The output of the Ti:Sapphire oscillator (0.1-0.6 mJ/pulse) is sent through a Ti:Sapphire 8-pass amplification stage generating typical output energies of 30 mJ/pulse. The pulse width can be varied between 20-40 ns by changing the energy of the oscillator pump, with longer pulse widths (narrower frequency bandwidth) being more favorable for spectroscopy although there is a trade-off in pulse energies.