New Generation of Tunable Diode Laser based Instruments for Atmosphere Monitoring

Abstract

During the last decade various Tunable Diode Laser (TDL) applications were demonstrated in different areas of high resolution molecular spectroscopy, chemistry, plasma physics, atmosphere monitoring, medicine, high technologies, and other ones. More than 800 papers were published dealing with TDL applications(1). However, the method was not widely used in routine operations due to several reasons. One of them is a necessity of laser cooling systems. Complicity of TDL systems and their inevitable high costs are the other one. Moreover, lasers' properties, their irreproducibility and necessity of highly qualified operators to run the instrument may be considered as the main reason restricting dramatically the broad implementation of TDL systems. In the present paper we will discuss briefly the last subject and possible improvement of TDL system characteristics.