Excimer laser system for atmospheric remote sensing of ozone

A high-power narrow-linewidth XeCl excimer laser system developed for use by NASA in the remote sensing of atmospheric ozone is described. The laser system is designed for incorporation in a DIAL lidar utilizing stimulated Raman generation for the reference wavelength and sophisticated data averaging techniques. The laser output has a linewidth of 0.002 nm and a beam divergence of 0.15 mrad (FWHM). The laser was operated over a six-hour period with a constant average power of 18 W and a wavelength stable to within + or - 0.0006 nm.