Albrecht Bartels

Ultrafast time-domain spectroscopy based on high-speed asynchronous optical sampling

High-speed asynchronous optical sampling (ASOPS) is a novel technique for ultrafast time-domain spectroscopy (TDS). It employs two mode-locked femtosecond oscillators operating at a fixed repetition frequency difference as sources of pump and probe pulses. We present a system where the 1 GHz pulse repetition frequencies of two Ti:sapphire oscillators are linked at an offset of Deltaf(R)=10 kHz. As a result, their relative time delay is repetitively ramped from zero to 1 ns within a scan time of 100 micros. Mechanical delay scanners common to conventional TDS systems are eliminated, thus systematic errors due to beam pointing instabilities and spot size variations are avoided when long time delays are scanned. Owing to the multikilohertz scan-rate, high-speed ASOPS permits data acquisition speeds impossible with conventional schemes. Within only 1 s of data acquisition time, a signal resolution of 6 x 10(-7) is achieved for optical pump-probe spectroscopy over a time-delay window of 1 ns. When applied to terahertz TDS, the same acquisition time yields high-resolution terahertz spectra with 37 dB signal-to-noise ratio under nitrogen purging of the spectrometer. Spectra with 57 dB are obtained within 2 min. A new approach to perform the offset lock between the two femtosecond oscillators in a master-slave configuration using a frequency shifter at the third harmonic of the pulse repetition frequency is employed. This approach permits an unprecedented time-delay resolution of better than 160 fs. High-speed ASOPS provides the functionality of an all-optical oscilloscope with a bandwidth in excess of 3000 GHz and with 1 GHz frequency resolution.

10-GHz self-referenced optical frequency comb.

A laser that emits lines every 10 gigahertz can be used for frequency calibration in spectroscopy. The femtosecond laser–based frequency comb has played a key role in high-precision optical frequency metrology for a decade. Although often referred to as a precise optical frequency ruler, its tick marks are in fact too densely spaced for direct observation and individual use, limiting important applications in spectroscopy, astronomy, and ultrafast electromagnetic waveform control. We report on a femtosecond laser frequency comb with a 10-gigahertz repetition rate that creates a stabilized output spectrum with coverage from 470 to 1130 nanometers. The individual modes can be directly resolved with a grating spectrometer and are visible by eye.

Octave-spanning Ti:sapphire laser with a repetition rate >1 GHz for optical frequency measurements and comparisons

We demonstrate a self-referenced, octave-spanning, mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser with a scalable repetition rate (550 MHz - 1.35 GHz). We use the frequency comb output of the laser, without additional broadening in optical fiber, for simultaneous measurements against atomic optical standards at 534, 578, 563, and 657 nm and to stabilize the laser offset frequency.

Femtosecond-laser-based synthesis of ultrastable microwave signals from optical frequency references

We use femtosecond laser frequency combs to convert optical frequency references to the microwave domain, where we demonstrate the synthesis of 10-GHz signals having a fractional frequency instability of < or =3.5 x 10(-15) at a 1-s averaging time, limited by the optical reference. The residual instability and phase noise of the femtosecond-laser-based frequency synthesizers are 6.5 x 10(-16) at 1 s and -98 dBc/Hz at a 1-Hz offset from the 10-GHz carrier, respectively. The timing jitter of the microwave signals is 3.3 fs.

Femtosecond Ti:sapphire ring laser with a 2-GHz repetition rate and its application in time-resolved spectroscopy

A Kerr-lens mode-locked femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser operating at a repetition rate of 2 GHz is demonstrated. A mirror-dispersion-controlled unidirectional ring cavity delivers nearly bandwidth-limited pulses of 23-fs length. Mode locking is self-starting without a hard aperture in the cavity. The advantages of this high-repetition-rate oscillator in optical time-resolved spectroscopy are demonstrated.

Asynchronous optical sampling for high-speed characterization of integrated resonant terahertz sensors

Two femtosecond Ti:sapphire lasers with slightly different repetition rates near 1 GHz are coupled to implement high-speed asynchronous optical sampling. The application of this technique is successfully demonstrated in the field of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (TDS). A time delay of 1 ns is scanned at a frequency of 5 kHz without moving mechanical parts. Compared with that of conventional TDS schemes based on lock-in detection and moving mirrors, the readout time of integrated resonant THz sensors is reduced by a factor of 20, opening the way for high-throughput THz sensing in marker-free DNA analysis.

Phase-coherent link from optical to microwave frequencies by means of the broadband continuum from a 1-GHz Ti:sapphire femtosecond oscillator

An optical clockwork is created with a compact 1-GHz repetition-rate laser and three nonlinear crystals. The broadband continuum output of the laser covers sufficient bandwidth to provide direct access to its carrier-envelope offset frequency without the use of a microstructure fiber. We phase lock the femtosecond comb to a Ca optical standard and monitor the stability of the repetition rate, f(r) , at 1 GHz. We demonstrate that the short-term stability of the microwave output of the optical clock is at least as good as that of a high-performance hydrogen maser.

Terahertz emission from lateral photo-Dember currents.

The photo-Dember effect is known as source of impulsive THz radiation after excitation with femtosecond optical pulses. The origin of the emission is the ultrafast separation of electron and holes in strong carrier gradients due to different diffusion coefficients. For a simple semiconductor surface the time dependent polarization is oriented perpendicular to the excited surface which complicates efficient out coupling of THz radiation. We investigate a new scheme for generating strong carrier gradients parallel to the surface. In that case the photo-Dember currents are oriented parallel to the surface and the generated THz radiation can be easily out coupled. This concept can be scaled up so that multiple phase coherent photo-Dember currents contribute to the THz emission. These passive THz emitters reach electric field amplitudes comparable to high-efficiency externally biased photoconductive emitters.

High resolution spectroscopy with a femtosecond laser frequency comb

The output of a mode-locked femtosecond-laser is used for high resolution spectroscopy of Cs in an atomic beam. The laser is referenced directly to a stable RF signal from the NIST time-scale. By changing the lasers repetition rate, the Cs D/sub 1/ and D/sub 2/ transitions are detected with high resolution.

Passively mode-locked 10 GHz femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser

We report a mode-locked Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser emitting 42 fs pulses at a 10 GHz repetition rate. When operated with a spectrally integrated average power greater than 1 W, the associated femtosecond laser frequency comb contains approximately 500 modes, each with power exceeding 1 mW. Spectral broadening in nonlinear microstructured fiber yields comb elements with individual powers greater than 1 nW over approximately 250 nm of spectral bandwidth. The modes of the emitted comb are resolved and imaged with a simple grating spectrometer and digital camera. Combined with absorption spectroscopy of rubidium vapor, this approach permits identification of the mode index and measurement of the carrier envelope offset frequency of the comb.