Frequency-Agile source of remote optical (UV-THz) emission (market assessment)

本提案涉及与开发频率敏捷辐射源（从紫外到太赫兹）相关的市场评估，该源通过在在线设置中使用多色灯丝和通过对飞秒激光束进行光谱整形而获得。高功率频率的敏捷光辐射源（从可见光到太赫兹）由于复杂性和成本，在技术上还不成熟。当前的非线性光相互作用和在一定控制距离上产生辐射的方法是基于将激光束分成几个光束，改变其中一些光束的频率并重新组合各种光束。多波束系统的精确对准、系统复杂性和高稳定性是关键和难以控制的问题，限制了其在真实环境中的实际应用。我们开发了一种绕过电流限制的新方法，提供了一种在空间和时间上重叠完全共线几何的双色脉冲或多色脉冲的方法，用于通过非线性光学相互作用或光电流产生过程在远距离产生可调谐的UV， VIS， IR和/或太赫兹源。开发和测试的系统通过可编程控制激光光谱幅度和相位，可以很容易地产生频率敏捷辐射。光源可以在距离（100 - km）的范围内产生，由单个激光束调制成不同波长的共线多脉冲，脉冲之间有可控的时间延迟，这些脉冲在可控距离内组合在多色灯丝中。该系统确保在长距离传播中，特别是在空气中，对对准、振动和湍流完全不敏感。本装置中光学元件的数量减少，为遥感或光谱学提供了一种强大而紧凑的方式来产生具有完美控制参数的远程辐射。稳定和可编程产生的可调谐红外发射在2µm和12µm之间的范围和太赫兹辐射在2THz到6THz范围内已经证明了在长距离。

The present proposal concerns a market assessment related to the development of a source of frequency agileradiation (from UV to THz) obtained by using multi-color filamentation in an in-line setup and by spectrallyshaping a femtosecond laser beam. High power frequency agile sources of optical radiation (from the visible tothe THz) are not technologically mature due to complexity and cost. The current approach in non-linear opticalinteraction and generation of radiation at some controlled distance is based on splitting a laser beam in severalbeams, changing the frequency of some of these beams and recombining the various beams. Precise alignment,system complexity and high stability of the multi-beam system are critical and difficult to control, which limitsthe practical use in a real environment. We developed a novel approach which circumvents the currentlimitations offering a way to spatially and temporally overlap two-color pulses or multi color pulses in acompletely collinear geometry for the generation at long distance of tunable UV, VIS, IR and/or THz sourcevia nonlinear optical interaction or photocurrent generation processes. The system developed and tested allowsan easy generation of frequency-agile radiation through programmable control of the laser spectral amplitudeand phase. The optical source can be generated on a range of distances (100m - km) from a single laser beammodulated into collinear multi-pulses of different wavelengths, with a controlled temporal delay between thepulses, which are combined at a controlled distance in a multiple-color filament. The system ensures acomplete insensibility to alignments, vibrations and turbulences on long distances propagation particularly inair. The number of optical components in the present device is reduced offering a robust and compact way togenerate remote radiation with perfectly controlled parameters for remote sensing or spectroscopy. The stableand programmable generation of tunable Infra-red emission in the range between 2µm and 12µm and THzradiation in the 2THz to 6THz range has been demonstrated at long distances.