English

High-Resolution Quantum Cascade Laser Dual-Comb Spectroscopy in the Mid-Infrared with Absolute Frequency Referencing

Optics 2022-05-09 v1 Instrumentation and Detectors

Abstract

Quantum cascade laser (QCL) frequency combs have revolutionized mid-infrared (MIR) spectroscopy by their high brightness and fast temporal resolution, and are a promising technology for fully-integrated and cost-effective sensors. As for other integrated comb sources such as micro-combs and interband cascade laser, QCLs have a comb spacing of several GHz, which is adequate for measurements of wide absorbing structures, typically found in liquid or solid samples. However, high-resolution gas-phase spectra require spectral interleaving and frequency calibration. We developed a frequency calibration scheme for fast interleaved measurements with combs featuring multi-GHz spacing. We then demonstrate dual-comb spectroscopy with 600 kHz accuracy in single-shot 54-ms measurements over 40 cm1^{-1} using two QCLs at 7.8 μ\mathrm{\mu}m. This work is an important contribution towards fast fingerprinting of complex molecular mixtures in the MIR. Moreover, the calibration scheme could be used with micro-combs for spectroscopy and ranging, both in comb-swept and comb-calibrated setups.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2205.03334,
  title  = {High-Resolution Quantum Cascade Laser Dual-Comb Spectroscopy in the Mid-Infrared with Absolute Frequency Referencing},
  author = {Kenichi N. Komagata and Valentin J. Wittwer and Thomas Südmeyer and Lukas Emmenegger and Michele Gianella},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2205.03334},
  year   = {2022}
}

Comments

8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table