Abstract
This article attempts to review the major advancements made in the past 12 years, since 1993, in the field of diode laser atomic spectroscopy. The discussion covers experimental improvements (e.g., wavelength stabilization, frequency upconversion, enhancement of tuning characteristics, spectral bandwidth using external cavities, etc.), diagnostic applications in various atomizers, as well as analytical applications (e.g., absorption, fluorescence, and ionization spectroscopy; element‐selective detectors for chromatography; etc.). With potential new users of these methods in mind, a detailed overview of the properties relevant to atomic spectroscopy of commercial diode lasers is also given.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks Dr. Zsolt Geretovszky (Department of Optics and Quantum Electronics, University of Szeged, Hungary) for his valuable comments on various topics throughout the manuscript. This work was financially supported by the OTKA agency (Hungary) under grant No. F043213.