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Mid-infrared Frequency Comb Spanning an Octave Based on an Er Fiber Laser and Difference-Frequency Generation

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Abstract

We describe a coherent mid-infrared continuum source with 700 cm-1 usable bandwidth, readily tuned within 600–2500 cm-1 (4–17 μm) and thus covering much of the infrared "fingerprint" molecular vibration region. It is based on nonlinear frequency conversion in GaSe using a compact commercial 100-fs-pulsed Er fiber laser system providing two amplified near-infrared beams, one of them broadened by a nonlinear optical fiber. The resulting collimated mid-infrared continuum beam of 1 mW quasi-cw power represents a coherent infrared frequency comb with zero carrier-envelope phase, containing about 500,000 modes that are exact multiples of the pulse repetition rate of 40 MHz. The beam's diffraction-limited performance enables long-distance spectroscopic probing as well as maximal focusability for classical and ultraresolving near-field microscopies. Applications are foreseen also in studies of transient chemical phenomena even at ultrafast pump-probe scale, and in high-resolution gas spectroscopy for e.g. breath analysis.

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Acknowledgment

We acknowledge helpful dicussions with Marco Marangoni and Albert Schliesser.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LASNIX, Sonnenweg 32, 82152, Berg, Germany

    Fritz Keilmann

  2. Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Am Coulombwall 1, 85748, Garching, Germany

    Sergiu Amarie

Authors
  1. Fritz Keilmann
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  2. Sergiu Amarie
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Correspondence to Fritz Keilmann.

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Keilmann, F., Amarie, S. Mid-infrared Frequency Comb Spanning an Octave Based on an Er Fiber Laser and Difference-Frequency Generation. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 33, 479–484 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-012-9894-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10762-012-9894-x

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