Linear field-resolved spectroscopy approaching ultimate detection sensitivity
Electric-field oscillations are now experimentally accessible in the THz-to-PHz frequency range. Their measurement delivers the most comprehensive information content attainable by optical spectroscopy - if performed with high sensitivity. Yet, the trade-off between bandwidth and efficiency associated with the nonlinear mixing necessary for field sampling has so far strongly restricted sensitivity in applications such as field-resolved spectroscopy of molecular vibrations. Here, we demonstrate electric-field sampling of octave-spanning mid-infrared waves in the 18-to-39 THz (600-to-1300 cm<sup>-1</sup>) spectral region, with amplitudes ranging from the MV/cm level down to a few mV/cm. We show that employing powerful 2-µm gate pulses is key to approaching the ultimate detection limit of capturing all photons in the temporal gate, as well as providing high linearity with respect to the detected mid-infrared field. This combination of detection sensitivity, dynamic range, and linearity enables the exploitation of the full potential of emerging high-power waveform-controlled infrared sources for (non-)linear spectroscopy of solids, liquids, and gases.
Authors
- Ernst E. Fill
- Jens Limpert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8349-3530)
- Kiran Sankar Maiti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7337-7541)
- T. Butler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7860-2111)
- Daniel G. Bausch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7209-6983)
- Christina Höfer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0315-5468)
- Lukas Fürst
- Martin Gebhardt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8663-700X)
- Ferenc Krausz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6525-9449)
- Tobias Heuermann
- Nicholas Karpowicz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3137-3144)
- Marinus Huber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5309-4475)
- Maximilian Högner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6243-802X)
- Ioachim Pupeza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8422-667X)
- Christian Gaida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1865-4702)
- Zheng Wei
Institutions
- Helmholtz Institute Jena (DE)
- University of British Columbia (CA)
- Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology (DE)
- Graz University of Technology (AT)
- Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (DE)
- International Center for Transitional Justice (US)
- Active Fiber Systems (Germany) (DE)
- GfK (Germany) (DE)
- Friedrich Schiller University Jena (DE)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Optics Express
- Published
- 2024-11-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.536543
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Spectroscopy Techniques in Biomedical and Chemical Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.99