Mid-infrared wavelength- and frequency-modulation spectroscopy with a pump-modulated singly-resonant optical parametric oscillator

Midinfrared Tunable Laser with Noncritical Frequency Matching in Box Resonator Geometry

Monolithic optical parametric oscillators extend laser frequencies in compact architectures, but normally guide and circulate all pump, signal, and idler beams. Critical frequency matching is raised among these resonances, limiting operation stability and continuous tuning. Here, we develop a box resonator geometry that guides all beams but only resonates for signal. Such noncritical frequency matching enables 227 GHz continuous tuning, with sub-10 kHz linewidth and 0.43 W power at 3310 nm. Our results confirm that monolithic resonator can be effectively used as a tunable laser including midinfrared wavelength, as further harnessed with methane fine spectral measurement at MHz accuracy.

Single-tone mid-infrared frequency modulation spectroscopy for sensitive detection of transient species

A single-tone mid-infrared frequency modulation (MIR-FM) spectrometer consisting of a cw-OPO-based laser system, a 500 MHz LiTaO ₃ electro-optical modulator (EOM), and a high-bandwidth GaAs mid-infrared detector has been developed. In order to assess the instrument's sensitivity and time resolution, FM spectra of selected CH ₄ transitions around 3070 cm ^-1 were measured and the reaction Cl + CH ₄ following the 193 nm excimer laser photolysis of oxalyl chloride was investigated by recording concentration-time profiles of HCl at 2925.90 cm ^-1 in a low-pressure slow-flow reactor. Furthermore, OH radicals were generated by UV photolysis of H ₂O ₂ and its transients were recorded at 3447.27 cm ^-1. The minimal detectable absorption of the spectrometer was determined to be A _min=4⋅10^-4 (Δ f _BW=1 MHz, ν~=3447 cm ^-1) by using the Allan approach. Mainly due to thermal noise contributions of the easy-to-saturate photodetector, the detection limit is about a factor of 4 above the shot-noise limit. To the best of our knowledge, this work reports the first implementation of a single-tone MIR-FM spectrometer based on an external EOM modulation scheme and its use for the detection of transient molecular species.

Mid-infrared optical parametric oscillators and frequency combs for molecular spectroscopy

Review of mid-infrared optical parametric oscillators and frequency combs for high-resolution spectroscopy, including applications in trace gas detection and fundamental research.

Narrowing of the linewidth of an optical parametric oscillator by an acousto-optic modulator for the realization of mid-IR noise-immune cavity-enhanced optical heterodyne molecular spectrometry down to 10⁻¹⁰ cm⁻¹ Hz⁻¹/²

The linewidth of a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) has been narrowed with respect to an external cavity by the use of an acousto-optic modulator (AOM). This made possible an improvement of the sensitivity of a previously realized OPO-based noise-immune cavity-enhanced optical heterodyne molecular spectrometry instrument for the 3.2 - 3.9 µm mid-infrared region by one order of magnitude. The resulting system shows a detection sensitivity for methane of 2.4 × 10(-10) cm(-1) Hz(-1∕2) and 1.3 × 10(-10) cm(-1) at 20 s, which allows for detection of both the environmentally important (13)CH(4) and CH(3)D isotopologues in atmospheric samples.

Sub-kilohertz linewidth narrowing of a mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator idler frequency by direct cavity stabilization

We stabilize the idler frequency of a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator directly to the resonance of a mid-infrared Fabry-Perot reference cavity. This is accomplished by the Pound-Drever-Hall locking scheme, controlling either the pump laser or the resonant signal frequency. A residual relative frequency noise power spectral density below 10(3)  Hz(2)/Hz is reached on average, with a Gaussian linewidth of 920 Hz over 100 ms, which reveals the potential for reaching spectral purity down to the hertz level by locking the optical parametric oscillator against a mid-infrared cavity with state-of-the-art superior performance.

Doppler-broadened mid-infrared noise-immune cavity-enhanced optical heterodyne molecular spectrometry based on an optical parametric oscillator for trace gas detection

An optical parametric oscillator based Doppler-broadened (Db) noise-immune cavity-enhanced optical heterodyne molecular spectrometry (NICE-OHMS) system suitable for addressing fundamental vibrational transitions in the 3.2-3.9 μm mid-infrared (MIR) region has been realized. An Allan-Werle analysis provides a detection sensitivity of methane of 1.5×10(-9)  cm(-1) with a 20 s integration time, which corresponds to 90 ppt of CH4 if detected at the strongest transition addressed at 40 Torr. This supersedes that of previous Db MIR NICE-OHMS demonstrations and suggests that the technique can be suitable for detection of both the environmentally important (13)CH(4) and CH3D isotopologues. It also opens up for detection of many other molecular species at ppt and sub-ppt concentration levels.

Applications of absorption spectroscopy using quantum cascade lasers

Infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (LAS) is a promising modern technique for sensing trace gases with high sensitivity, selectivity, and high time resolution. Mid-infrared quantum cascade lasers, operating in a pulsed or continuous wave mode, have potential as spectroscopic sources because of their narrow linewidths, single mode operation, tunability, high output power, reliability, low power consumption, and compactness. This paper reviews some important developments in modern laser absorption spectroscopy based on the use of quantum cascade laser (QCL) sources. Among the various laser spectroscopic methods, this review is focused on selected absorption spectroscopy applications of QCLs, with particular emphasis on molecular spectroscopy, industrial process control, combustion diagnostics, and medical breath analysis.

Incoherently pumped continuous wave optical parametric oscillator broadened by non-collinear phasematching

In this paper, we report on a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (OPO) pumped by an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source. The pump focusing conditions allow non-collinear phasematching, which resulted in a 230 nm (190 cm(-1)) spectral bandwidth. Calculations indicate that such phasematching schemes may be used to further broaden OPO spectral bandwidths.

One-Watt level mid-IR output, singly resonant, continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator pumped by a monolithic diode laser

We report more than 1.1 Watt of idler power at 3373 nm in a singly resonant optical parametric oscillator (SRO), directly pumped by a single-frequency monolithic tapered diode laser. The SRO is based on a periodically poled MgO:LiNbO3 crystal in a four mirror cavity and is excited by 8.05 W of 1062 nm radiation. The SRO pump power at threshold is 4 W. The internal slope-efficiency and conversion efficiency reach 89% and 44% respectively. The signal and idler waves are temperature tuned in the range of 1541 to 1600 nm and 3154 to 3415 nm respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest output obtained for a diode pumped optical parametric oscillator (OPO), and the first time a SRO is directly pumped by a monolithic tapered diode laser.

Relaxation oscillation suppression in continuous-wave intracavity optical parametric oscillators

We report a solution to the long standing problem of the occurrence of spontaneous and long-lived bursts of relaxation oscillations which occur when a continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator is operated within the cavity of the parent pump-laser. By placing a second nonlinear crystal within the pump-wave cavity for the purpose of second-harmonic-generation of the pump-wave the additional nonlinear loss thereby arising due to up-conversion effectively suppresses the relaxation oscillations with very little reduction in down-converted power.

Sensitive Absorption Methods for Quantitative Gas Phase Kinetic Measurements. Part 1: Frequency Modulation Spectroscopy

Frequency modulation spectroscopy (FMS) and cavity ringdown spectroscopy (CRDS) are sensitive absorption based detection methods that have found widespread applications in gas phase reaction kinetics. In part 1 of this review, the theoretical foundations of FMS are addressed with a special emphasis on time-resolved quantitative measurements of concentration profiles. A complementary review of CRDS can be found in part 2 (Z. Phys. Chem. 222 (2008) 31–61). Practical aspects, possible pitfalls, attainable sensitivities, and modern trends are discussed. Kinetic studies based on FMS measurements as a time-resolved detection tool are briefly reviewed and a bibliography with more than a hundred entries is included to facilitate the access to the large body of original literature.

Stable, continuous-wave, intracavity, optical parametric oscillator pumped by a semiconductor disk laser (VECSEL)

We report relaxation oscillation free, true continuous-wave operation of a singly-resonant, intracavity optical parametric oscillator (OPO) based upon periodically-poled, MgO-doped LiNbO3 and pumped internal to the cavity of a compact, optically-excited semiconductor disk laser (or VECSEL). The very short upper-laser-state lifetime of this laser gain medium, coupled with the enhancing effect of the high-finesse pump laser cavity in which the OPO is located, enables a low threshold, high efficiency intracavity device to be operated free of relaxation oscillations in continuous-wave mode. By optimizing for low-power operation, parametric threshold was achieved at a diode-laser power of only 1.4 W. At 8.5 W of diode-laser power, 205 mW of idler power was extracted, indicating a total down-converted power of 1.25 W, and hence a down-conversion efficiency of 83%.