Compact fibre-based coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy and interferometric coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering from a single femtosecond fibre-laser oscillator

We demonstrate a new approach to CARS spectroscopy by efficiently synthesizing synchronized narrow-bandwidth (less than 10 cm⁻¹) pump and Stokes pulses (frequency difference continuously tunable upto ≈3000 cm⁻¹) based on spectral compression together with second harmonic generation (in periodically-poled nonlinear crystals) of femtosecond pulses emitted by a single compact Er-fibre oscillator. For a far better signal to non-resonant background contrast, interferometric CARS (I-CARS) is demonstrated and CARS signal enhancement upto three orders of magnitude is achieved by constructive interference with an auxiliary local oscillator at anti-Stokes field, also synthesized by spectral compression of pulses emitted from the same fibre oscillator.     

Heterodyne coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) imaging

We have achieved rapid nonlinear vibrational imaging free of nonresonant background with heterodyne coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) interferometric microscopy. This technique completely separates the real and imaginary responses of nonlinear susceptibility chi(3) and yields a signal that is linear in the concentration of vibrational modes. We show that heterodyne CARS microscopy permits the detection of weak vibrational resonances that are otherwise overshadowed by the strong interference of the nonresonant background.     

Interferometric polarization coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (IP-CARS) microscopy

We report a novel interferometry-based polarization coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (IP-CARS) implementation for effectively suppressing the nonresonant background while significantly amplifying the resonant signal for vibrational imaging. By modulating the phase difference between the two interference CARS signals generated from the same sample and measuring the peak-to-peak intensity of the periodically modulated interference CARS signal, the IP-CARS technique yields a sixfold improvement in the signal-to-background ratio compared with conventional CARS while providing an approximately 20-fold amplification of the resonant CARS signal compared with conventional polarization CARS. We demonstrate this method by imaging 4.69 microm polystyrene beads and unstained human epithelial cells immersed in water.     

All-ultraviolet time-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering

We report all-UV coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) in calcite with 250-280 nm pump, Stokes, probe, and anti-Stokes light. UV CARS efficiency is approximately 7x higher than for comparable scattering in the visible, 480-540 nm. Time-resolved UV CARS reveals lengthening of the dephasing time of 1086 cm(-1) CO3(2-) internal vibrations from 4 to 7 ps with increasing vibrational excitation, consistent with a phonon depletion model.     

Polarization coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

We report polarization coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (P-CARS) microscopy that allows vibrational imaging with high sensitivity and spectral selectivity. The nonresonant background signals from both Raman scatterers and the solvent are efficiently suppressed in P-CARS microscopy. We demonstrate P-CARS imaging of unstained cells based on the contrast of the protein amide I band.     

Fourier-transform coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

We report a novel Fourier-transform-based implementation of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy. The method employs a single femtosecond laser source and a Michelson interferometer to create two pulse replicas that are fed into a scanning multiphoton microscope. By varying the time delay between the pulses, we time-resolve the CARS signal, permitting easy removal of the nonresonant background while providing high resolution, spectrally resolved images of CARS modes over the laser bandwidth (approximately 1500 cm(-1)). We demonstrate the method by imaging polystyrene beads in solvent.     

Temperature measurements in reacting flows by time-resolved femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs-CARS) spectroscopy

Time-resolved femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (fs-CARS) spectroscopy of the nitrogen molecule is used for the measurement of temperature in atmospheric-pressure, near-adiabatic, hydrogen-air diffusion flames. The initial frequency-spread dephasing rate of the Raman coherence induced by the ultrafast (∼85 fs) Stokes and pump beams is used as a measure of gas-phase temperature. This initial frequency-spread dephasing rate of the Raman coherence is completely independent of collisions and depends only on the frequency spread of the Raman transitions at different temperatures. A simple theoretical model based on the assumption of impulsive excitation of Raman coherence is used to extract temperatures from time-resolved fs-CARS experimental signals. The extracted temperatures from fs-CARS signals are in excellent agreement with the theoretical temperatures calculated from an adiabatic equilibrium calculation. The estimated absolute accuracy and the precision of the measurement technique are found to be ±40 K and ±50 K, respectively, over the temperature range 1500-2500 K.     

相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微成像技术研究

基于全量子理论对相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射(CARS)过程进行了分析, 在此基础上搭建了单频CARS显微成像系统, 获得了不同尺寸聚苯乙烯微球高对比度的CARS显微图像. 为了标定成像系统的空间分辨率, 采用逐点扫描方式对直径为110 nm聚苯乙烯微球成像, 从而重构出系统的点扩展函数. 结果表明: 该CARS显微成像系统的横向空间分辨率约为600 nm, 而由阿贝衍射极限决定的理论空间分辨率约为300 nm. 分析了导致分辨率降低的原因, 并提出了解决方案. 为实现纳米分辨的CARS显微成像打下了坚实的基础.     

用于CARS激发源的全光纤飞秒脉冲谱压缩

进行了基于光纤预啁啾和自相位调制的多模/单模组合式全光纤啁啾谱压缩研究.提出利用多模光纤模式估计群速度色散均值的方法,并将该估计值作为啁啾参量分析的计算参数,仿真计算了50/125μm折射率渐变多模光纤的群速度色散均值及其与单模光纤在不同长度比值下的光谱压缩效果.采用三种折射率渐变多模光纤进行实验,对比分析了折射率渐变多模光纤的芯径大小及其与单模光纤的长度比值对光谱压缩效果的影响.实验结果表明使用50/125μm折射率渐变多模光纤获得光谱最大压缩比为5.796,谱宽为2.243 nm,与理论仿真一致;使用105/125μm折射率渐变多模光纤,可进一步提高压缩比至152.941,输出谱宽为0.085 nm的光脉冲.将此脉冲用于相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射光谱探测,理论光谱分辨率可达1.386 cm~(-1).     

相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微镜的成像特性

对自身不发荧光且不便于荧光标记的化学或生物学样品，集相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射与激光共焦扫描显微镜于一身的相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微镜是一种好的选择。因为相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射是一种非线性过程，相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微镜的显微成像特性与一般的共焦显微镜非常不同。首先计算了焦点附近相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射激发场的偏振分布，然后，利用格林函数方法，得到了以赫兹偶极子为源的波动方程的精确解，发现对于不同的成像配置和样品形状，像场的相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射场分布非常不同，因此传统的显微镜成像表征方式（如点扩展函数）将不再能描述相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微镜的成像特性。     

纳米分辨相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微成像

采用附加探测光声子耗尽法来实现超衍射极限相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射显微成像. 此方法引入一束环形分布的附加探测光来消耗点扩展函数周边的相干声子, 实现点扩展函数的改造, 从而达到超越衍射极限的空间分辨率. 为了获得更高的空间分辨率和更佳的相位匹配条件, 通常需采用高数值孔径物镜对抽运光、斯托克斯光和探测光进行聚焦, 此时标量衍射理论不再成立. 基于矢量衍射理论, 分析了线偏振光、圆偏振光先后经过螺旋相位片和高数值孔径物镜后的光强分布, 结果表明: 圆偏振光在高数值孔径物镜后焦平面的光强分布呈中心对称状, 较线偏振环形光更适合作为附加探测光. 此外, 采用全量子理论分析了附加探测光声子耗尽法. 结果表明: 当附加探测光与探测光强度比为80时, 成像系统的横向空间分辨率可以达到45 nm; 继续提高附加探测光强度, 空间分辨将进一步提高.     

Molecular orientation effects in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering

The dependence of CARS susceptibilities on molecular orientation is considered for a diatomic or symmetric-top molecule. The angular distribution of the internuclear axis during an excitation time interval that is short compared with a simple molecular rotation was investigated. The part of the molecules involved in the excited channels of the two-photon resonance and their angular distribution were deduced. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Highly sensitive single-beam heterodyne coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering

Single-beam coherent anti-Stokes Raman-scattering (CARS) microspectroscopy achieves a complete CARS scheme with a femtosecond laser. Here, we introduce heterodyne detection in a simple experimental extension: the optical fields driving the CARS process and the local oscillator used for heterodyning are derived from a single beam of ultrashort laser pulses by pulse shaping. The heterodyne signal is amplified by more than 3 orders of magnitude and is linearly dependent on the concentration of Raman scatterers. This dramatically increases the sensitivity of chemically selective detection at microscopic resolution while maintaining the simplicity of the single-beam setup.     

Heterodyne interferometric polarization coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (HIP‐CARS) spectroscopy

We demonstrate a new technique that combines polarization sensitivity of the coherent anti‐Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) response with heterodyne amplification for background‐free detection of CARS signals. In this heterodyne interferometric polarization CARS (HIP‐CARS), the major drawbacks of polarization and heterodyne CARS are rectified. Using a home‐built picosecond optical parametric oscillator, we are able to address vibrational stretches between 600 and 1650 cm⁻¹ and record continuous high‐resolution Raman equivalent HIP‐CARS spectra. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy of nitrogen using a picosecond modeless dye laser

Broadband picosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy of nitrogen is demonstrated using 145-ps pump and probe beams and a 115-ps Stokes beam with a spectral bandwidth of 5 nm. This is, to our knowledge, the first demonstration of broadband CARS using subnanosecond lasers. The short temporal envelope of the laser pulses and the broadband spectral nature of the Stokes beam will enable nonresonant-background-free, single-shot, or time-dependent spectroscopy in high-pressure or hydrocarbon-rich environments. Successful correlation of room-temperature broadband picosecond N2 CARS with a theoretical spectrum is presented.     

Dual-pump dual-broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering in reacting flows

A dual-pump, dual-broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering system for simultaneous measurements of temperature and concentrations of N2, O2, and CO2 in reacting flows is demonstrated. In this system pure rotational transitions of N2-O2 and rovibrational transitions of N2-CO2 are probed simultaneously with two narrowband pump beams, a broadband pump beam, and a broadband Stokes beam. The main advantage of this technique is that it permits accurate temperature measurements at both low and high temperatures as well as concentration measurements of three molecules.     

Wide-field coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy with non-phase-matching illumination

We have developed and tested a wide-field coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy technique, which provides the simultaneous imaging of an extended illuminated area without scanning. This method is based on the non-phase-matching illumination of a sample and imaging of a CARS signal with a CCD camera using conventional microscope optics. We have identified a set of conditions on the illumination and imaging optics, as well as on sample preparation. Imaging of test objects proved high spatial resolution and chemical selectivity of this technique.     

Femtosecond phase-and-polarization control for background-free coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy

Phase-and-polarization coherent control is applied to control the nonlinear response of a quantum system. We use it to obtain high-resolution background-free single-pulse coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectra. The ability to control both the spectral phase and the spectral polarization enables measurement of a specific off-diagonal susceptibility tensor element while exploiting the different spectral response of the resonant Raman signal and the nonresonant background to achieve maximal background suppression.     

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS)

By putting the non-linear susceptibility tensors in irreducible spherical form it is found that orientation averaging, selection rules, and the angular dependence of intensity on field polarizations all follow in a straightforward way. These spherical tensor techniques are used to treat coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) in detail and a comparison is made with conventional Raman scattering. The selection rules for both processes are shown to be the same. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of the rotational structure in CARS.