Ultrabroadband single-pulse CARS of liquids using a spatially dispersive Stokes beam

A double-channel spectrometer, which enables to acquire ultrabroadband single-pulse spectra of liquids by Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (CARS), is described. The method used to fulfill the phase-matching condition is based on the fact that the CARS efficiency in dispersive media is the largest when the interactive waves cross each other under frequency-determined angles. The dependence of the spatial separation between the pump and Stokes beam, in front of the crossing CARS lens, due to their frequency difference is analysed. It is shown that the different spectral components of an ultrabroadband Stokes source have phase-matched the CARS process when they are laterally shifted by a conjugated prism pair and focused into the sample. The method is tested in the spectral region 2800–3800 cm^–1 of a non-resonant medium (CCl₄) using an ultrabroadband dye laser (1000 cm^–1 FWHM). The influence of the Stokes beam spatial dispersion on the width of CARS generation is demonstrated. By this method, 1060 cm^–1 wide single-pulse spectra of the OH stretching vibration of liquid water are obtained for the first time. The ratio between the resonant and non-resonant part of the third-order susceptibility in water and methanol is determined.