Coherent multiwave heterodyne frequency measurement of a far-infared laser by means of a femtosecond laser comb

We demonstrate the possibility of using a femtosecond laser to measure with high accuracy the frequency of a far-infrared (FIR) monochromatic source, such as an optically pumped molecular laser, by generating in a suitable mixer a signal in the radio-frequency region at the frequency difference between n steps of a femtosecond comb and the FIR source. All the couples of modes lying a distance of n steps from one another contribute coherently to the heterodyne signal. The technique has been tested up to 670 GHz.     

Characteristics of a far-infrared molecular laser optically pumped by a high-power CO2 laser

A molecular far-infrared (FIR) laser optically pumped by a high-power CO₂ laser, which is a powerful source for testing detectors and mixers and for FIR spectroscopy, is constructed and the performance is examined through experiments. At frequencies between 580GHz and 4.25THz, FIR output power is more than 2030m W by pumping power of 3581W. Amplitude stability of ±3% is obtained at 100m W output at 2.52THz for over 30 minutes when the FIR tube is cooled at 5°C by a chiller.As an application to testing mixers, FIR laser lines up to 4.25 THz are detected by Schottky barrier diodes (SBD). Further, using a SBD, performance of absolute frequency stability at 693GHz of HCOOH oscillation is measured by harmonic mixing with a 115.5GHz millimeter wave from a phase-locked Gunn oscillator. The resultant center-frequency stability is 100kHz per 10 minutes.     

Frequency Lock of an Optically Pumped FIR Ring Laser at 803 and 1626 GHz

We report an automatic frequency control (AFC) for an optically pumped far infrared (FIR) ring laser applicable for high resolution THz sideband spectroscopy by mixing a fraction of the laser power and a harmonic of a phase-locked synthesizer on a planar Schottky diode. We achieve a relative frequency accuracy of about 0.5 kHz rms at 803 GHz ( ¹⁵ NH ₃ ) and about 1 kHz rms at 1626.6 GHz (CH ₂ F ₂ ) over hours of lock time. The absolute frequency accuracy is estimated to be about 5 kHz at 1626.6 GHz.     

Heterodyne investigations into FIR laser outputs and quasi-optical Schottky barrier diode detectors

Heterodyne investigations using laser/microwave mixing techniques have been applied to a FIR laser and a quasi-optical Schottky type detector. Techniques for identifying various laser parameters will be discussed. The heterodyne techniques resulted in NEP (2 × 10^-19 W/Hz at 496 μm) and bandwidth (9 GHz) specifications for the detector.     

A system for measuring absolute frequencies of up to 4.25 THz using a Josephson point contact

A system for measuring the absolute frequency of a far-infrared (FIR) laser is described. Josephson point contacts have been utilized in the system as a frequency harmonic mixer connecting microwaves and optically pumped CH₃OH laser lines. The Josephson point contacts are capable of generating beat signals of 90 GHz microwaves and FIR waves of up to 4.25 THz. To measure the frequency of the beat signals from the Josephson junction with a frequency counter, tracking oscillators have been developed, which tracks the beat signals by phase locking and regenerate clean signals for frequency counting. It is shown that the absolute frequency can be measured to an accuracy of about 100 Hz by using the tracking oscillators.     

Synchronisation effects in broadband FIR raman scattering in NH3

By using a short pulse broad band (2 GHz) CO₂ laser around a single well detuned line (15 GHz), it is possible to analyse, with sub-ns resolution, the dynamics of a broadband FIR Raman scattering. When the Raman gain is large, well modulated ns emissions are detected also for resonant lines. Generally the pseudo cavity effects, are always present. They have important effects on the gain, in particular an aligned input window has a large positive effect on the Raman gain and on the generation of mode-locked FIR forward emissions     

Study of optical output couplers for submillimeter wavelength backward-wave oscillators (BWO's)

The machining of slow wave structures for high frequency BWO's is extremely difficult beyond l THz. Recently a microfabrication technique using photolithography and ion-beam assisted etching has been used to construct a prototype BWO operating at 200 to 265 GHz.The output coupler for such tubes remains a problem. Waveguides do not exist or are very lossy at the frequencies of interest (300 to 2000 GHz).This paper discusses several scaled experiments of optical output couplers for submillimeter BWO's. Various designs of planar antennas (Vivaldi horns) and lens-feed systems (hyperhemispherical lens) were constructed and tested between 20 and 100 GHz using a spectrum analyzer. The lens system was also tested at 337 GHz using a CO₂ pumped FIR laser.     

Gaussian optical design of a submillimeter-wave and far-infrared laser sideband heterodyne spectrometer

A submillimeter-wave/far-infrared (SMM/FIR) laser sideband heterodyne spectrometer has been built for molecular rotational spectroscopy application in the frequency range of 600–3000 GHz. Based on Gaussian optics, optical system of the spectrometer is designed to be quasi-achromatic and low losses. In this article the optical design and the performance of the spectrometer are presented.     

Assignments of fir laser emissions from CH3OH optically pumped by an intra-cavity etalon tuned TEA-CO2 laser

The author reports that TEA-CO₂ with an intra-cavity etalon is a useful pumping source which can deliver widely tunable beam (tunable range 1 GHz) with accurate oscillation frequencies and with high power compared to a tunable wave guide laser.The source is applied to the excitations of CH₃OH and the FIR emissions from it are well assigned for there absorption transitions and FIR emissions. This proves that the source display not only usefulness for development of new FIR emissions but also for molecular spectroscopy.     

New CW FIR laser lines obtained in ammonia pumped by a CO2 laser, using the Stark tuning method

We report fifty seven CW FIR emissions observed in NH₃, by resonant pumping with a CO₂ laser. Exact coincidences between IR absorption lines of the gas and emission lines of the CO₂ laser have been carried out by Stark tuning. IR frequency shifts, up to 30 GHz, have allowed the pumping of forty three NH₃ transitions.These FIR emissions correspond to thirty one different wavelengths in the 50–400 m range; eighteen ones of them are new emitted wavelengths by pumping with the CO₂ laser.     

New far infrared measurements of the rotational spectrum of cyanoacetylene HC3N

Several rotational lines of cyanoacetylene in the ground state and the first excited state v7=1 have been measured between 580 and 1100 GHz with a new FIR laser sidebands spectrometer. A global analysis which takes into account the previous measurements on this molecule is performed.     

Investigation of 13CH3OH methanol: new laser lines and assignments

We have reinvestigated ¹³CH₃OH as a source of far-infrared (FIR) laser emission using a CO₂ laser as a pumping source. Thirty new FIR laser lines in the range 36.5 μm to 202.6 μm were observed and characterized. Five of them have wavelengths between 36.5 and 75 μm and have sufficient intensity to be used in LMR spectroscopy. Using Fourier-transform spectroscopic data in the infrared (IR) and FIR regions we have determined the assignment for 10 FIR laser transitions and predict nine frequencies for laser lines which have yet to be observed. Received: 17 July 2000 / Published online: 6 December 2000     

A compact fir ring laser with open resonator and variable output coupling

We describe the design, construction and first experimental results with an open triangle FIR ring resonator with Michelson interferometer output coupling, which we combined with a Brewster-windowless 10W CO₂ pump laser to a compact laser package of 1m length. The achieved stability of power and frequency of this system is very high, typically on the order of ±0.01% over several hours and <20kHz per hour at 800GHz. For the design, we investigated the balance of all laser processes and determined the optimum dimensions for the open resonator cavity. This analysis is based on a radially homogenous overall laser model, including commonly accepted simplified rate equations together with molecular parameters for weak FIR laser lines. In accordance with the modelling the efficiency on the very most prominent lines is better than with conventional waveguide lasers, giving up to 4 times better efficiencies especially on lines with low absorption pump transitions. Several laser lines, however, have substantially enhanced pump thresholds on purely copropagating emission, suppressing laser operation below about 10W pump power threshold. We show that this can not be due to effects from the interferometer.     

Optically pumped far infrared lasers

The far-infrared (FIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum is commonly thought of as the wavelength region ≈ 30μm-≈2 mm. Thus, the FIR wavelength region is located between the more familiar areas of microwaves and optics. Primarily due to the lack of FIR sources and detectors, the FIR region is difficult to access and therefore relatively unexplored and unused. The FIR source problem is presently under attack from neighbouring disciplines; from the microwave side by extending the frequency operating range of classical electron tube oscillators (e.g. backward wave oscillators) and semiconductor devices (e.g. IMPATT and quantum well oscillators) and from the optical side primarily by optically pumped molecular gas lasers.The FIR technology evolution accelerated in the mid 60's with the discovery of the discharge pumped hydrogen cyanide laser, lasing at a handful of lines located at about 330μm wavelength. However, the most important step towards a useful coherent FIR source was the discovery of the optically pumped FIR laser in 1970. In optically pumped FIR lasers a molecular gas (e.g. methyl fluoride methyl alcohol, formic acid) is pumped by an external laser, usually a carbon dioxide laser. The FIR laser transitions typically takes place between adjacent rotational levels in an excited vibrational state. Today, optically pumped FIR lasers cover the full FIR region by more than one thousand discrete laser lines observed in hundreds of FIR laser media. FIR output powers on the order of 1–100 mW are available from a vast number of laser transitions.Despite the rapid development of semiconductor FIR oscillators the optically pumped FIR laser is still the only practical unit that bridge the full frequency-gap between microwaves and optics. The fact that FIR lasers are considered as local oscillators in space born applications, indicate that FIR laser technology has matured considerably.This survey paper discusses optically pumped FIR lasers from the engineer's point of view: principles of operation, design and characteristics.     

Applications of high resolution spectroscopy to the identification of far-infrared laser emission from optically pumped13CH3OH

High-resolution infrared (IR) and far infrared (FIR) Fourier transform absorption spectra have been employed to investigate assignments of FIR laser lines reported from optically-pumped¹³CH₃OH. The spectroscopic measurements are used in conjunction with the reported IR pump and FIR laser frequencies to form closed combination loops for several systems, serving to confirm the assignments and in some cases to improve the accuracy of the FIR laser frequencies. Frequency predictions from combination differences are also presented for a number of potential new FIR laser lines.     

Coherent tunable far infrared radiation

Tunable, cw, far infrared (FIR) radiation has been generated by nonlinear mixing of radiation from two CO₂ lasers in a metal-insulator-metal, (MIM) diode. The FIR difference-frequency power was radiated from the MIM diode antenna to a calibrated indium antimonide bolometer. Two-tenths of a microwatt of FIR power was generated by 250 mW from each of the CO₂ lasers. Using the combination of lines from a waveguide CO₂ laser, with its larger tuning range, with lines from CO₂, N₂O, and CO₂ isotope lasers promises complete coverage of the entire far infrared band from 100 to 5000 GHz (3–200 cm^–1) with stepwise-tunable cw radiation.Contribution of the National Bureau of Standards, not subject to copyright     

Tunable single-mode optical pumping of the D2O FIR laser

A tunable single-mode stabilized CO₂ TEA laser is used to optically pump D₂O vapour. Two D₂O absorption lines separated from the CO₂ P(32) line centre by 0.6 GHz and -1.4 GHz are found to produce respective FIR emission at 120 μ and 66 μ. Superradiant output efficiences of up to 70% of the the theoretical maximum are observed. Laser cavity operation of the two D₂O emission lines was also observed with quantum conversion efficiencies of 6.8% (66 μ) and 14.5% (120 μ) when calculated for the active lasing volume.     

Assignment of FIR Laser Lines of Hydrazine

With 228 known FIR laser emissions, hydrazine is the most prolific laser active molecules after methanol. But, due to the complexity of its rovibrational spectrum, only a few assignments of hydrizine FIR laser transitions are found in literature. Here we analyze 44 FIR laser lines of hydrazine excited by 20 different CO₂ pumps. The pump transitions are compared to available assignments of IR amino-wagging transitions. We propose values for the J and K quantum numbers involved in 41 FIR laser transitions, for 22 of them we give also the symmetry species.     

Relaxation oscillations in cw optically pumped CD3OD and15NH3 lasers

We report the results of heterodyne measurements of the mode quality and tuning range of a cw CO₂ laser designed for optically pumping a far-infrared (FIR) molecular laser, and describe the implications of multi-mode operation. In particular we report the observation of relaxation oscillations in the output of a FIR waveguide laser.     

Characterization and frequency measurement of a new far infrared laser line from CHin2Fin2

We present the discovery and frequency measurement of a new FIR laser line from CH₂F₂ optically pumped by a waveguide CO₂ laser. This new line has the same CO₂ laser pump line (9R32), offset (+5 MHz) and relative polarization of the strongest FIR laser line of CH₂F₂, namely the 184.3μm. The frequency is only 19,454 MHz apart from that of this line. We got a frequency measurement of 1,646,196.6 (10) MHz, which corresponds to a wavelength of 182.112 μm.