Quantum theory of (femtosecond) time-resolved stimulated Raman scattering

We present a complete perturbation theory of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS), which includes the new experimental technique of femtosecond stimulated Raman scattering (FSRS), where a picosecond Raman pump pulse and a femtosecond probe pulse simultaneously act on a stationary or nonstationary vibrational state. It is shown that eight terms in perturbation theory are required to account for SRS, with observation along the probe pulse direction, and they can be grouped into four nonlinear processes which are labeled as stimulated Raman scattering or inverse Raman scattering (IRS): SRS(I), SRS(II), IRS(I), and IRS(II). Previous FSRS theories have used only the SRS(I) process or only the "resonance Raman scattering" term in SRS(I). Each process can be represented by an overlap between a wave packet in the initial electronic state and a wave packet in the excited Raman electronic state. Calculations were performed with Gaussian Raman pump and probe pulses on displaced harmonic potentials to illustrate various features of FSRS, such as high time and frequency resolution; Raman gain for the Stokes line, Raman loss for the anti-Stokes line, and absence of the Rayleigh line in off-resonance FSRS from a stationary or decaying v=0 state; dispersive line shapes in resonance FSRS; and the possibility of observing vibrational wave packet motion with off-resonance FSRS.     

Photostable lysosomal imaging of living cell with hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy using a probe based on bisarylbutadiyne

Lysosome-selective Raman probe, Lyso-BADY, was created with improved Raman signal intensity, stability as well as specificity under the visualization of hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy. Prolonged exposure to irradiation further proved its photostability and potentiality for continuous imaging.     

Stimulated Raman laser excitation of spontaneous resonance Raman scattering

The efficient conversion of the second and third harmonics of a Nd YAG laser to near UV radiation in the 395–500 nm range by stimulated Stokes (and anti-Stokes) Raman scattering (SRS) in a 1 m Raman oscillator containing compressed H₂ or D₂ is used as an excitation source for spontaneous resonance Raman spectroscopy (RRS). SRS excited RR spectra are shown for the anion radical of tetracyanoquinodimethane (TCNQ).     

Live‐Cell Stimulated Raman Scattering Imaging of Alkyne‐Tagged Biomolecules

Alkynes can be metabolically incorporated into biomolecules including nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and glycans. In addition to the clickable chemical reactivity, alkynes possess a unique Raman scattering within the Raman‐silent region of a cell. Coupling this spectroscopic signature with Raman microscopy yields a new imaging modality beyond fluorescence and label‐free microscopies. The bioorthogonal Raman imaging of various biomolecules tagged with an alkyne by a state‐of‐the‐art Raman imaging technique, stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, is reported. This imaging method affords non‐invasiveness, high sensitivity, and molecular specificity and therefore should find broad applications in live‐cell imaging.     

Pīcosecond time resolution of stimulated Raman of alcohols,and their relationship to the generation of a picosecond continuum

The simultaneous time and frequency resolved spectra of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) generated in D₂O, H₂O alcohols and diols by picosecond pulses are utilized to measure the vibrational relaxation of these liquids.The relationship between this SRS and the origin and spectral width of a broadband continuum is examined. It is shown that strong experimental evidence exists suggesting that in these liquids under a high power condition the SRS plays a major role in the existence and extent of the continuum.     

All-Fiber Tunable Pulsed 1.7 μm Fiber Lasers Based on Stimulated Raman Scattering of Hydrogen Molecules in Hollow-Core Fibers

Fiber lasers that operate at 1.7 μm have important applications in many fields, such as biological imaging, medical treatment, etc. Fiber gas Raman lasers (FGRLs) based on gas stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCFs) provide an elegant way to realize efficient 1.7 μm fiber laser output. Here, we report the first all-fiber structure tunable pulsed 1.7 μm FGRLs by fusion splicing a hydrogen-filled HC-PCF with solid-core fibers. Pumping with a homemade tunable pulsed 1.5 μm fiber amplifier, efficient 1693~1705 nm Stokes waves are obtained by hydrogen molecules via SRS. The maximum average output Stokes power is 1.63 W with an inside optical–optical conversion efficiency of 58%. This work improves the compactness and stability of 1.7 μm FGRLs, which is of great significance to their applications.     

异硫氰基孔雀石绿受激拉曼光谱研究

本文报道了具有时间分辨能力的全频宽带受激拉曼（BBSRS）系统和关于异硫氰基孔雀石绿（MGITC）受激拉曼光谱（sRs）的研究．BBSRS系统的探测光为450-800nm宽带连续白光,泵浦光为280～900nm范围内连续可调谐的ps窄带可见光（带宽≈7．5cm-1,脉宽≈2．5ps）．在合适的泵浦波长下,该系统可同时获取拉曼损失和拉曼增益光谱．MGITC的SRS研究结果表明,当拉曼损失谱峰出现在最大吸收波长（≈627nm）时,共振SRS谱峰强度最大;当泵浦或增益谱峰在最大吸收波长附近时,未观察到明显的共振拉曼信号;共振峰强度随浓度增大而增大,随泵浦功率增大而迅速增大,后趋于饱和;共振和非共振峰强在延时零点附近达到最大值,并随延时绝对值的增大而减小．     

Induced changes in stimulated Raman scattering intensities

The stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) intensity of neat liquids and of binary liquid mixtures was measured as a function of the power of the pump field and of an additional radiation field at the Stokes frequency. In neat p-xylene SRS intensity transfer, form one vibrational mode to another, was observed. In benzene/nitrobenzene mixtures it was found possible, at various concentrations, to selectively generate SRS from one component in the mixture, including the minor one. Implications of the results for the selective excitation by the SRS process of a single species in a mixture are discussed.     

Expanding the Range of Bioorthogonal Tags for Multiplex Stimulated Raman Scattering Microscopy

Multiplex optical detection in live cells is challenging due to overlapping signals and poor signal-to-noise associated with some chemical reporters. To address this, the application of spectral phasor analysis to stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy for unmixing three bioorthogonal Raman probes within cells is reported. Triplex detection of a metallacarborane using the B−H stretch at 2480–2650 cm⁻¹, together with a bis-alkyne and deuterated fatty acid can be achieved within the cell-silent region of the Raman spectrum. When coupled to imaging in the high-wavenumber region of the cellular Raman spectrum, nine discrete regions of interest can be spectrally unmixed from the hyperspectral SRS dataset, demonstrating a new capability in the toolkit of multiplexed Raman imaging of live cells.     

The stimulated raman scattering process for possible use in photoselective isotope enrichment

The process of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) is discussed as a means of achieving sizeable transient populations in the first vibrationally excited state of one species out of an isotopic mixture. This may be useful for photoselective isotope enrichment schemes. The main advantage of SRS excitation is the possibility of using one fixed-wavelength laser for the study of various compounds; also there is an inherent tendency to selectivity in SRS since the more abundant species in an isotopic mixture will show a higher gain for SRS. Sample calculations are presented showing Q-switched solid-state lasers to be good sources for selective excitation of gaseous mixtures, while mode-locked laser pulses are required for liquid samples.     

热散焦效应对甲烷后向受激喇曼散射的影响

The conversion efficiency of stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in CH4 is studied by using a single longitudinal mode second-harmonic Nd:YAG laser (532 nm, linewidth 0.003 cm-1, pulse-width (FWHM) 6.5 ns).Due to the heat release from vibrationally excited particles, SRS processes often suffer from the thermal defocusing effect (TDE). In view of 6.5 ns laser pulse width is much shorter than the vibrational relaxation time of CH4 molecules, TDE can only affect the SRS processes afterwards. In the cases of low laser repetition, TDE will be not serious, because it will be removed by the thermal diffusion in Raman medium before the next pulse arrives. At the laser repetition rate 2 Hz, CH4 pressure 1.1 MPa and pump laser energy 95 m J, the quantum conversion efficiency of backward first-Stokes (BS1) has attained 73%. This represents the highest first-stokes conversion efficiency in CH4. Furthermore, due to the relaxation oscillation, the BS1pulses are narrowed to about 1.2 ns. As a result, the BS1 peak power turns out to be 2.7 times that of the pump. Its beam quality is also much better and is only slightly affected by TDE. This reason is that BS1 represents a wave-front-reversed replica of the pump beam, which can compensate the thermal distortions in Raman amplify process. Under the same conditions, but pump laser repetition rate as 10 Hz, the conversion efficiency of BS1 goes down to 36% due to TDE. From this study, we expect that a well-behaved 630 nm Raman laser may be designed by using a closed CH4/He circulating-cooling system, which may have some important applications.     

A rotational thermalization model for the calculation of collisionally narrowed isotropic raman scattering spectra - application to the SRS N2 Q-branch

A model for the calculation of collisionally narrowed isotropic. Raman scattering spectra is proposed. In this model, the rotational transition probabilities are calculated within the strong collision approximation, allowing the rotational energy transfer rates to be expressed in terms of the sole individual Q(J) line broadening coefficients. These transfer rates satisfy both detailed balance principle and unitarity of the scattering matrix in contrast with most of the previous approaches. Under further approximation concerning the rotational distribution of the collisional frequency, simpler expressions for transfer rates are deduced, which do not satisfy necessarily both unitarily and detailed balance. A simple analytical expression for the Q-branch profile is then obtained. An experimental study of the isotropic Q-branch for N₂ as a function of pressure has been conducted at room temperature by stimulated Raman spectroscopy (SRS). The Q-branch profiles calculated from the present model show a good agreement with SRS experiments, in particular when the lines overlap and when collisional narrowing takes place. This agreement is quite similar to that obtained by using a polynomial inverse energy gap law to describe the rotational energy transfer rates, and the results of these two models are closer for higher temperatures. The simple analytical expression mentioned above for the Q-branch profile, which is inaccurate at room temperature, becomes reliable at high temperature.     

The many facets of Raman spectroscopy for biomedical analysis

A critical review is presented on the use of linear and nonlinear Raman microspectroscopy in biomedical diagnostics of bacteria, cells, and tissues. This contribution is combined with an overview of the achievements of our research group. Linear Raman spectroscopy offers a wealth of chemical and molecular information. Its routine clinical application poses a challenge due to relatively weak signal intensities and confounding overlapping effects. Nonlinear variants of Raman spectroscopy such as coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) have been recognized as tools for rapid image acquisition. Imaging applications benefit from the fact that contrast is based on the chemical composition and molecular structures in a label-free and nondestructive manner. Although not label-free, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) has also been recognized as a complementary biomedical tool to increase sensitivity. The current state of the art is evaluated, illustrative examples are given, future developments are pointed out, and important reviews and references from the current literature are selected. The topics are identification of bacteria and single cells, imaging of single cells, Raman activated cell sorting, diagnosis of tissue sections, fiber optic Raman spectroscopy, and progress in coherent Raman scattering in tissue diagnosis. The roles of networks—such as Raman4clinics and CLIRSPEC on a European level—and early adopters in the translation, dissemination, and validation of new methods are discussed.     

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering: Spectroscopy and microscopy

In this review the basis, recent developments and applications of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) in the fields of spectroscopy and microscopy are dialed with. The nonlinear susceptibility of the investigated molecule induced by pump and Stokes laser beams employed in the CARS technique is discussed. The relation between the nonlinear susceptibility, the different CARS laser intensities and the phase matching condition between them is also presented. The structure of CARS spectrum is analyzed as a function of the physical characteristics of the different employed lasers. This includes laser half widths, interference effects, cross-coherence and saturation of the resultant CARS signal by stimulated Raman scatter process (SRS). The different broadening mechanisms for CARS spectral line such as pressure and Doppler broadening are demonstrated. The recent progress in CARS for the in situ reaction flame diagnosis due to its suitability for detection of vibrational-rotational excited gas molecules present in the electronic ground state is discussed. CARS diagnosis for liquid- and solid-phases including the progress in polymeric materials is considered. The applications of CARS microscopy are reviewed in the view of its recent advances to study chemical and biological systems.     

相干拉曼散射显微术

相干拉曼散射显微术（Coherent Raman Scattering Microscopy）是一类植根于拉曼散射的光学显微成像方法,主要包含相干反斯托克斯拉曼散射（Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering,CARS）和受激拉曼散射（Stimulated Raman Scattering,SRS）两种方法.CARS/SRS显微术通过探测目标分子特定的振动来提供成像所需的衬度,通过非线性光学过程大大提高了检测的灵敏度,同时本征地具备三维成像能力.CARS和SRS显微术可以对脂类等不易被标记的物质成像,还可以很好地通过选择振动光谱,对生物体内特定小分子物质如药物等,以及生物大分子如核酸、蛋白质等进行无需标记的成像,因此成为极有潜力的活体（invivo）成像手段.本文主要介绍了CARS和SRS显微术的基本原理、实验操作及其在化学和生命科学中的应用.     

Quantitative chemical imaging with multiplex stimulated Raman scattering microscopy

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy is a newly developed label-free chemical imaging technique that overcomes the speed limitation of confocal Raman microscopy while avoiding the nonresonant background problem of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy. Previous demonstrations have been limited to single Raman band measurements. We present a novel modulation multiplexing approach that allows real-time detection of multiple species using the fast Fourier transform. We demonstrate the quantitative determination of chemical concentrations in a ternary mixture. Furthermore, two imaging applications are pursued: (1) quantitative determination of oil content as well as pigment and protein concentration in microalgae cultures; and (2) 3D high-resolution imaging of blood, lipids, and protein distribution in ex vivo mouse skin tissue. We believe that quantitative multiplex SRS uniquely combines the advantage of fast label-free imaging with the fingerprinting capability of Raman spectroscopy and enables numerous applications in lipid biology as well as biomedical imaging.     

Probing the evaporation of ternary ethanol-methanol-water droplets by cavity enhanced Raman scattering

Cavity enhanced Raman scattering is used to characterise the evolving composition of ternary aerosol droplets containing methanol, ethanol and water during evaporation into a dry nitrogen atmosphere. Measurements made using non-linear stimulated Raman scattering from these ternary alcohol-water droplets allow the in situ determination of the concentration of the two alcohol components with high accuracy. The overlapping spontaneous Raman bands of the two alcohol components, arising from C-H stretching vibrational modes, are spectrally-resolved in stimulated Raman scattering measurements. We also demonstrate that the evaporation measurements are consistent with a quasi-steady state evaporation model, which can be used to interpret the evaporation dynamics occurring at a range of pressures at a particular evaporation time.     

Efficient Coherent Population Transfer of D2 Molecules by Stark-induced Adiabatic Raman Passage

Preparation of a high flux of hydrogen molecules in a specific vibrationally excited state is the major prerequisite and challenge in scattering experiments that use vibrationally excited hydrogen molecules as the target. The widely used scheme of stimulated Raman pumping suffers from coherent population return which severely limits the excitation efficiency. Re-cently we successfully transferred D₂ molecules in the molecular beam from (v=0, J=0) to (v=1, J=0) level, with the scheme of Stark-induced adiabatic Raman passage. As high as 75% of the excitation efficiency was achieved. This excitation technique promise to be a unique tool for crossed beam and beam-surface scattering experiments which aim to reveal the role of vibrational excitation of hydrogen molecules in the chemical reaction.     

Resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization mass spectrometry using a two-color laser beam generated by stimulated Raman scattering.

Two-color (1+1') resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (REMPI/TOF-MS) combined with supersonic jet (SSJ) spectrometry has been demonstrated. The methodology uses a two-color laser beam consisting of a Stokes beam generated by stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) and a fundamental beam for the excitation and subsequent ionization of p-dichlorobenzene. The MPI signal was found to be substantially increased when a two-color laser beam was employed. This approach greatly simplifies the analytical system and reduces the cost of the instrumentation required for two-color ionization. The potential advantage of applying this method for the analysis of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (PCDD) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) emitted from an incinerator is discussed.     

Vibronic coupling simulations for linear and nonlinear optical processes: simulation results

A vibronic coupling model based on time-dependent wavepacket approach is applied to simulate linear optical processes, such as one-photon absorbance and resonance Raman scattering, and nonlinear optical processes, such as two-photon absorbance and resonance hyper-Raman scattering, on a series of small molecules. Simulations employing both the long-range corrected approach in density functional theory and coupled cluster are compared and also examined based on available experimental data. Although many of the small molecules are prone to anharmonicity in their potential energy surfaces, the harmonic approach performs adequately. A detailed discussion of the non-Condon effects is illustrated by the molecules presented in this work. Linear and nonlinear Raman scattering simulations allow for the quantification of interference between the Franck-Condon and Herzberg-Teller terms for different molecules.