Physics Commons^™

Using An Atomic Molecular Optics Laboratory For Undergraduate Research And Mentoring Of Physics Students In Georgia, Matthew P. Dallas

Georgia College Student Research Events

Using an Atomic Molecular Optics Laboratory for Undergraduate Research and Mentoring of Physics Students in Georgia

An Atomic and Molecular Optical (AMO) Physics research lab is an excellent tool to train and mentor undergraduate students in advanced laboratory techniques. Students gain valuable basic experience in experimental designs, data acquisition techniques, working with high precision optical equipment, building electronics, and working in the machine shop. The current project is building and testing an enclosure for the diode laser to reduce sound and vibrational interference. In addition, we are developing and evaluating a new, more compact laser cavity which is 3d printed. …

Zinc Oxide Random Laser Threshold Enhancement Via Addition Of Passive Scatterers, Zachariah M. Peterson, Rolf Könenkamp, Robert Campbell Word

Student Research Symposium

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a wide bandgap n-type semiconductor with a variety of optical and electrical applications and many methods of fabrication. Strong optical scattering and photoluminescence from ZnO nanoparticles and films makes the material an ideal candidate for a random laser. Previous studies have shown both incoherent and coherent random lasing from ZnO films and particles agglomerations. When used as a passive scatterer in a laser dye gain medium, the addition of ZnO has been shown to improve the threshold for lasing. By combining active scattering ZnO with a passive scatterer, MgO, we show here that the lasing threshold …