Tunability of the Raman Laser

A discussion of the stimulated Raman effect, with special emphasis on the possibility of constructing a tunable Raman laser in which tuning over tens of angstroms can be expected, is presented. The requirement which must be satisfied to obtain a broad tuning range is that the vibrational transition involved in the Raman scattering be simultaneously infrared active, i.e., infrared absorbing. The tuning characteristic of the 704-cm−1 line in methylene chloride is examined in detail to illustrate the considerations presented.