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Measuring optical frequencies in the 0–40 THz range with non-synchronized electro–optic sampling

Nature Photonics volume 1, pages 577–580 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Measurements using optical frequency combs1,2,3,4,5,6 are now important in high-precision spectroscopy. However, measurement techniques described so far are either restricted to narrow frequency ranges or are difficult to implement in the far-infrared regime. Here we present a time-domain method for the direct measurement of optical frequencies in the mid- and far-infrared spectral region. The method is analogous to a sampling scope, with the electric field of the source measured by electro–optic sampling7,8,9,10,11,12,13 using the light pulses from a femtosecond laser as a probe. The highest optical frequency that can be measured with our ‘sampling scope’ is determined by the pulse length of the femtosecond laser. When 12-fs probe pulses are used, a measurement of up to 40 THz, corresponding to a wavelength of 7.5 µm, is possible9.

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Figure 1: Schematic of the experimental set-up.
Figure 2: Experimental results for the electro–optic signal.
Figure 3: Autocorrelation of the electro–optic signal for different measurement times ΔT.
Figure 4: Spectra of the data.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Born-Institut für Nichtlineare Optik und Kurzzeitspektroskopie, Berlin, 12489, Germany

    P. Gaal, M. B. Raschke, K. Reimann & M. Woerner

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, 98195-1700, Washington, USA

    M. B. Raschke

Authors
  1. P. Gaal
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  2. M. B. Raschke
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  3. K. Reimann
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  4. M. Woerner
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Correspondence to K. Reimann.

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Gaal, P., Raschke, M., Reimann, K. et al. Measuring optical frequencies in the 0–40 THz range with non-synchronized electro–optic sampling. Nature Photon 1, 577–580 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2007.170

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