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Lin K, Tutunnikov I, Qiang J, Ma J, Song Q, Ji Q, Zhang W, Li H, Sun F, Gong X, Li H, Lu P, Zeng H, Prior Y, Averbukh IS, Wu J. All-optical field-free three-dimensional orientation of asymmetric-top molecules. Nat Commun 2018; 9:5134. [PMID: 30510201 PMCID: PMC6277449 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07567-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Orientation and alignment of molecules by ultrashort laser pulses is crucial for a variety of applications and has long been of interest in physics and chemistry, with the special emphasis on stereodynamics in chemical reactions and molecular orbitals imaging. As compared to the laser-induced molecular alignment, which has been extensively studied and demonstrated, achieving molecular orientation is a much more challenging task, especially in the case of asymmetric-top molecules. Here, we report the experimental demonstration of all-optical field-free three-dimensional orientation of asymmetric-top molecules by means of phase-locked cross-polarized two-color laser pulse. This approach is based on nonlinear optical mixing process caused by the off-diagonal elements of the molecular hyperpolarizability tensor. It is demonstrated on SO2 molecules and is applicable to a variety of complex nonlinear molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kang Lin
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Ilia Tutunnikov
- AMOS and Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Junjie Qiang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Junyang Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiying Song
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Qinying Ji
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Wenbin Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Hanxiao Li
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Fenghao Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaochun Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Hui Li
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Peifen Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Heping Zeng
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China
| | - Yehiam Prior
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China.
- AMOS and Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Ilya Sh Averbukh
- AMOS and Department of Chemical and Biological Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, 7610001, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Jian Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China.
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, 030006, Taiyuan, Shanxi, China.
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