Data for the spectral light absorption of pure water from 250 to 550 nm have been obtained using an integrating cavity made from a newly developed diffuse reflector with a very high UV reflectivity. The data provide the first scattering-independent measurements of absorption coefficients in the spectral gap between well-established literature values for the absorption coefficients in the visible (>400  nm) and UV (<200  nm). A minimum in the absorption coefficient has been observed in the UV at 344 nm; the value is 0.000811±0.000227  m^-1.

Random lasers are a developing class of light sources that utilize a highly disordered gain medium as opposed to a conventional optical cavity. Although traditional random lasers often have a relatively broad emission spectrum, a random laser that utilizes vibration transitions via Raman scattering allows for an extremely narrow bandwidth, on the order of 10 cm−1. Here we demonstrate the first experimental evidence of lasing via a Raman interaction in a bulk three-dimensional random medium, with conversion efficiencies on the order of a few percent. Furthermore, Monte Carlo simulations are used to study the complex spatial and temporal dynamics of nonlinear processes in turbid media. In addition to providing a large signal, characteristic of the Raman medium, the random Raman laser offers us an entirely new tool for studying the dynamics of gain in a turbid medium.

We report the development of a diffuse reflecting material with measured reflectivity values as high as 0.99919 at 532 nm and 0.99686 at 266 nm. This material is a high-purity fumed silica, or quartz powder, with particle sizes on the order of 40 nm. We demonstrate that this material can be used to produce surfaces with nearly Lambertian behavior, which in turn can be used to form the inner walls of high-reflectivity integrating cavities. Light reflecting off such a surface penetrates into the material. This means there will be an effective "wall time" for each reflection off the walls in an integrating cavity. We measure this wall time and show that it can be on the order of several picoseconds. Finally, we introduce a technique for absorption spectroscopy in an integrating cavity based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy. We call this technique integrating cavity ring-down spectroscopy.

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Clean water is paramount to human health. In this article, we present a technique for detection of trace amounts of human or animal waste products in water using fluorescence emission cavity-enhanced spectroscopy. The detection of femtomolar concentrations of urobilin, a metabolic byproduct of heme metabolism that is excreted in both human and animal waste in water, was achieved through the use of an integrating cavity. This technique could allow for real-time assessment of water quality without the need for expensive laboratory equipment.water contamination | fluorescence spectroscopy | femtomolar detection