Frequency-Comb-Assisted Terahertz Quantum Cascade Laser Spectroscopy

Year: 2014

Authors: Bartalini S., Consolino L., Cancio P., De Natale P., Bartolini P., Taschin A., De Pas M., Beere H., Ritchie D., Vitiello M. S., Torre R.

Autors Affiliation: INO, Istituto Nazionale di Ottica—CNR, Largo Fermi 6, 50125 Firenze, Italy; LENS, European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy, Via Carrara 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, J. J. Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, United Kingdom; NEST, Istituto Nanoscienze—CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza San Silvestro 12, 56127 Pisa, Italy; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Firenze, Via Sansone 1, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Italy

Abstract: We report a metrological-grade THz spectroscopy based on the combination of a THz frequency-comb synthesizer (FCS) and a THz quantum cascade laser (QCL). The QCL, emitting at 2.5 THz, is phase locked to the free-space THz FCS, and its frequency is swept across a methanol transition by tuning the comb-repetition rate, which is ultimately disciplined by the Cs primary frequency standard. The absolute frequency scale provides an uncertainty of a few parts in 10(-11) on the laser frequency and 10(-9) on the line-center determination, ranking this technique among the most precise ever developed in the THz range.

Journal/Review: PHYSICAL REVIEW X

Volume: 4 (2)      Pages from: 021006  to: 021006

More Information: This work was partly supported by the Italian Ministry of Education, University, and Research (MIUR) through the program FIRB-Futuro in Ricerca 2010 RBFR10LULP fundamental research on terahertz photonic devices, by the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) EU roadmap project and by LASERLAB-EUROPE (Grant No. 284464, EC\’s Seventh Framework Programme). We acknowledge D. Mazzotti and M. Prevedelli for their valuable contribution and discussions.
KeyWords: Frequency standards; Laser spectroscopy; Photonics, Absolute frequency; Atomic and molecular physics; Free spaces; Laser frequency; Phase locked; Primary frequency standard; THz quantum cascade lasers; Thz spectroscopy, Quantum cascade lasers
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevX.4.021006

ImpactFactor: 9.043
Citations: 97
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