Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Weber, Joshua Joseph

Titel

Continuous-wave light modulation using stimulated Raman scattering

Ort / Verlag

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses

Erscheinungsjahr

2014

Quelle

ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• This thesis focuses on the development of a device that modulates light at molecular frequencies. The purpose of this molecular modulator is to generate a broad, continuous-wave laser spectrum. Our novel approach is based on stimulated Raman scattering in a high-finesse cavity. Using high-intensity intracavity fields, we drive ro-vibrational Raman transitions in a low-density gas of molecular deuterium (or hydrogen). This builds up a molecular coherence between ro-vibrational energy levels. This molecular coherence is then used to modulate a laser beam, generating sidebands that are spaced from the original frequency by multiples of the Raman frequencies, which can exceed 100 THz. The sidebands form a broad, coherent spectrum. Such a spectrum has numerous potential applications including ultrashort pulse generation, precision spectroscopy, and coherent control. To our knowledge, the spectra produced by our molecular modulator are the broadest coherent spectra ever produced in the continuous-wave domain. This thesis describes the generation of a spectrum that has over fifteen spectral components that cover nearly two octaves of optical bandwidth, a wavelength range from 800 nm to 3100 nm. In contrast to molecular modulation methods that are based on pulsed lasers, our continuous-wave approach ensures that each spectral component has a narrow frequency linewidth. In addition to the generation of broad spectra, this thesis describes work that demonstrates the broadband capabilities of molecular modulation and computational work that suggests promising applications for our modulator.