Femtosecond-fieldoscopy accesses molecules fingerprints at near-infrared spectral range (IMAGE)
Caption
An ultrashort pulse of light excites molecules at specific near-infrared wavelengths. In this setup, the molecules inside a small container represent the sample being studied, while the surrounding molecules represent water vapour in the air. The transmitted pulse captures the sample's combined response and the environment. A second ultrashort light pulse converts this pulse to higher optical frequencies, producing a time-dependent output in a crystal. This output reveals the initial pulse, the delayed responses from the liquid sample (lasting a few trillionths of a second) and the surrounding water vapour (lasting hundreds of billionths of a second). The short- lived liquid and long-lasting gas responses can be separated by analysing the data.
Credit
Florian Sterl
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