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Frequency-agile, rapid scanning spectroscopy

Nature Photonics volume 7, pages 532–534 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Challenging applications in trace gas measurements require low uncertainty and high acquisition rates1,2,3,4. Many cavity-enhanced spectroscopies exhibit significant sensitivity and potential5,6, but their scanning rates are limited by reliance on either mechanical or thermal frequency tuning7. Here, we present frequency-agile, rapid scanning spectroscopy (FARS) in which a high-bandwidth electro-optic modulator steps a selected laser sideband to successive optical cavity modes. This approach involves no mechanical motion and allows for a scanning rate of 8 kHz per cavity mode, a rate that is limited only by the cavity response time itself. Unlike rapidly frequency-swept techniques8,9,10,11, FARS does not reduce the measurement duty cycle, degrade the spectrum's frequency axis or require an unusual cavity configuration. FARS allows for a sensitivity of ∼2 × 10−12 cm−1 Hz−1/2 and a tuning range exceeding 70 GHz. This technique shows promise for fast and sensitive trace gas measurements and studies of chemical kinetics.

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Figure 1: Depiction of the principles of FARS.
Figure 2: Typical spectra measured with our rapid scanning approach using the narrow-linewidth fibre laser.

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Acknowledgements

Support for this research was provided by the NIST Greenhouse Gas Measurements and Climate Research Program. G-W. Truong was supported at NIST by an Australian Fulbright Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, 20899, Maryland, USA

    G.-W. Truong, K. O. Douglass, S. E. Maxwell, R. D. van Zee, D. F. Plusquellic, J. T. Hodges & D. A. Long

  2. Frequency Standards and Metrology Research Group, School of Physics, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Western Australia, Australia

    G.-W. Truong

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  1. G.-W. Truong
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  5. D. F. Plusquellic
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Contributions

D.F.P., K.O.D. and S.E.M. conceived the idea of rapid single-frequency broadband electro-optic modulator-based tuning and demonstrated its utility in absorption spectroscopy. D.A.L. and J.T.H. adapted the idea for application to high-finesse ring-down systems and designed the present implementation. G.-W.T., D.A.L. and J.T.H. performed the experiments. D.A.L. and G.-W.T. performed the data analysis. D.A.L. wrote the manuscript. D.A.L. and G.-W.T. prepared the Supplementary Information. All authors provided technical insight and assisted in the editing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to D. F. Plusquellic or D. A. Long.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Truong, GW., Douglass, K., Maxwell, S. et al. Frequency-agile, rapid scanning spectroscopy. Nature Photon 7, 532–534 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2013.98

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