MRI: Development of Nonlinear Optical Spectrometer

本研究的目的是建立一个非线性光学（NLO）光谱仪，将允许在大于两个倍频程的带宽（400 nm至1800 nm）的范围内测量非线性吸收光谱在~1小时，这样做使用绝对校准的方法，并产生在相同的光谱范围内的非线性折射率的色散。 这款仪器对NLO领域具有变革性意义，因为现在进行一次材料测量需要数天时间。该方法是基于广泛使用和引用（3000引用）Z扫描技术的光谱仪。 NLO光谱仪的光源将是在中等压力下在惰性气体中产生的极高光谱能量密度白光连续谱（WLC）。 拟议活动的智力价值来自文书？的能力，大大提高速度（因此深度）的表征非线性光学材料。 这种新的能力将允许理论家和合成化学家以及其他材料科学家更快地反馈NLO特性，从而导致改进的NLO材料的开发。 数据生成速率的大幅提高带来的更广泛影响是该仪器对非线性光学以外的几个领域产生影响的潜力，包括光学数据存储、多光子微制造、成像（生物和化学传感）、光动力治疗（医学）和电信。此外，该设备将允许本科生，研究生和研究科学家从快速表征设施中受益，从而有机会更多地了解光场-物质相互作用。

The objective of this research is to build a Nonlinear Optical (NLO) Spectrometer that will allow the spectrum of nonlinear absorption to be measured over a range of greater than two octaves of bandwidth (400nm to 1800nm) in ~1 hour, do this using an absolutely calibrated method and yield the dispersion of the nonlinear refractive index over the same spectral range. This instrument is transformative to the NLO field as it now takes days for a single material measurement. The approach is to base the spectrometer on the widely used and cited (3000 citations) Z-scan technique. The optical source for the NLO Spectrometer will be an exceedingly high spectral energy density White-Light Continuum (WLC) generated in a noble gas at moderate pressure. The intellectual merit of the proposed activity comes from the instrument?s capability to drastically increase the speed (and hence depth) of characterization of NLO materials. This new capability will allow for more rapid feedback on NLO properties to both theoreticians and synthetic chemists and other material scientists and in turn lead to the development of improved NLO materials. The broader impacts from this great increase in data generation rate are the instrument's potential to impact several fields beyond nonlinear optics, including optical data storage, multi-photon micro-fabrication, imaging (both biological and chemical sensing), photodynamic therapy (medical), and telecommunications. Additionally, this equipment will allow undergraduate, graduate, and research scientists to benefit from a rapid characterization facility, giving the opportunity to learn more about optical field-matter interactions.