Dual-comb spectroscopy is an emerging new spectroscopic tool that exploits the frequency resolution, frequency accuracy, broad bandwidth, and brightness of frequency combs for ultrahigh-resolution, high-sensitivity broadband spectroscopy. By using two coherent frequency combs, dual-comb spectroscopy allows a sample’s spectral response to be measured on a comb tooth-by-tooth basis rapidly and without the size constraints or instrument response limitations of conventional spectrometers. This review describes dual-comb spectroscopy and summarizes the current state of the art. As frequency comb technology progresses, dual-comb spectroscopy will continue to mature and could surpass conventional broadband spectroscopy for a wide range of laboratory and field applications.

Dual-comb spectroscopy

Ultrafast fibre lasers are an important optical system with industrial, medical and purely scientific applications. Essential components and the operation regimes of ultrafast fibre laser systems are reviewed, as are their use in various applications.

Ultrafast fibre lasers

Frequency down-conversion of solid-state laser sources to the mid-infrared spectral range using non-oxide nonlinear crystals

Nonlinear optical frequency conversion is one of the most versatile methods to generate wavelength-tunable laser light in the mid-infrared region. This spectral region is particularly important for trace gas detection and other applications of molecular spectroscopy, because it accommodates the fundamental vibrational bands of several interesting molecules. In this article, we review the progress of the most significant nonlinear optics instruments for widely tunable, high-resolution mid-infrared spectroscopy: continuous-wave optical parametric oscillators and difference frequency generators. We extend our discussion to mid-infrared optical frequency combs, which are becoming increasingly important spectroscopic tools, owing to their capability of highly sensitive and selective parallel detection of several molecular species. To illustrate the potential and limitations of mid-infrared sources based on nonlinear optics, we also review typical uses of these instruments in both applied and fundamental spectroscopy.

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

There is great interest in sources of coherent radiation in the mid-wave infrared (3–5 μm), and instruments based on fiber can offer major practical advantages. This range, and much broader, can be covered easily by supercontinuum generation in soft glass fibers, but with low power spectral density. For applications that require intense ultrashort pulses, fiber sources are quite limited. In this Letter, we report a fiber-based system that generates 100 fs pulses with 5 nJ energy, continuously wavelength-tunable over 2–4.3 μm through the soliton self-frequency shift (SSFS) in fluoride fibers. The pulse energies are 2 orders of magnitude higher than those previously achieved by SSFS, around 3 μm, and the range of wavelengths is extended by 1000 nm. Peak power ranges from 20 to 75 kW are achieved across the tuning range. Numerical simulations are in good agreement with the experimental results, and indicate the potential for few-cycle soliton generation out to 5.6 μm. Fiber-integrated sources of femtosecond pulses tunable across this region should be valuable for mid-infrared applications.

Generation of intense 100 fs solitons tunable from 2 to 43 μm in fluoride fiber

We demonstrate a midinfrared source tunable from 6.7 to 12.7 μm via difference frequency generation (DFG) in orientation-patterned GaAs, with 1.3 mW average output power. The input pulses are generated via Raman self-frequency shift of a femtosecond Tm-doped-fiber laser system in a fluoride fiber. We numerically model the DFG process and show good agreement between simulations and experiments. We use this numerical model to show an improved design using longer pump pulses.

M. Snure

Papers

Widely tunable midinfrared difference frequency generation in orientation-patterned GaAs pumped with a femtosecond Tm-fiber system