OCTOBER 1996 REPORT FOR
W. CHARLES SYMONS, III
Over the past month, a major emphasis was placed on the code utilized to
tune the Nd:YAG pumped OPO laser system and collect a single point
spectra. Currently the code can easily capture a pulse fired from the laser
via a PbS detector module as seen by the digitized pulse in Figure 1 below.
At this point, however, the code is still unable to tune the laser to the
desired wavelength due to either a programming bug or possibly a
hardware problem. This problem is currently being addressed and will
hopefully be eliminated as soon as possible. Another limitation of the
current code is the inability to declare very large continuous memory
arrays (i.e. Greater than 11,000 real data points) even though the machine
has enough memory to do so. The exact source of this problem is still
unclear but it is hoped that it is simply a DOS memory limitation. In an
attempt to bypass this limitation, the laser data collection/control
computer was also upgraded with a CD ROM drive so that it could
subsequently be upgraded to Windows 95.
Figure 1: Digitized Pulse from Nd:YAG Pumped OPO Laser.