Electronically tunable laser with automatic alignment along the Bragg angle in an acoustooptic deflector

A study is reported of the feasibility of improving the efficiency of electronic tuning of the radiation wavelength in a laser with an intracavity acoustooptic deflector (AOD) by automatic correction of the angle of incidence of the radiation on the AOD. It is shown that an additional element exhibiting angular dispersion placed ahead of the AOD produces the following effects: the tuning range is extended, the tuning dependence of the intensity is smoothed, and the laser radiation spectrum is narrowed. The results of the calculations are supported by an experimental study of a laser utilizing an ethanol solution of 6-aminophenalenone with a TeO₂-crystal AOD.