Arbitrary Optical Waveform Generation Using Molecular Modulation

该奖项的目标是构建一个任意的光学波形发生器，利用分子中的相干振动和旋转来产生宽的拉曼光谱。 这将同时产生数百万个波长，覆盖从红外线、可见光到紫外线的光谱区域。 此外，频谱将在连续波域中。 这项工作的智力价值是，通过对分子拉曼过程中复杂的非线性相互作用的理解，将概念转化为工作设备，能够提供新的研究发现。 自1960年激光器发明以来，构建这样的光源一直是光学科学中最大的挑战之一。一旦建成，这种装置将在广泛的领域中具有重要的应用，并将对社会产生巨大影响的潜力：（1）通过组合所有不同颜色的激光器，可以产生持续时间短于飞秒（百万分之一秒的十亿分之一）的闪光。这种短脉冲对于探测和理解这些时间尺度上发生的超快电子过程是必要的。有了这种新的理解，可以构建新的超快电子器件。(2)通过使用所有这些不同颜色的激光器，可以同时研究大量的原子和分子物种。这种能力对于更好地理解复杂分子的结构是必要的，包括蛋白质等生物分子。3)一种能产生数百万束激光的装置可以用来以前所未有的精度控制某些化学反应。因此，特定的化学产品（如药物）可以更有效地合成。 研究提供人力资源培训。 研究生和本科生参与的研究是在光学物理和激光科学的前沿。 他们将获得对未来高科技劳动力至关重要的技能。

The goal of this award is to construct an arbitrary optical waveform generator that utilizes coherent vibrations and rotations in molecules to produce a broad Raman spectrum of light. This will generate several millions of wavelengths simultaneously, covering the spectral region from infrared, visible to the ultraviolet. Furthermore, the spectrum will be in the continuous wave domain. The intellectual merit of this work is, through the understanding of the complex, nonlinear interactions in the molecular Raman process, to transform the concept into a working device, capable of delivering new research discoveries. Constructing such a light source has been one of the biggest challenges in optical science since the invention of the laser in 1960. Once constructed, such a device will have important applications in a broad range of areas and will have the potential for a large impact on society: (1) By combining all of the different-colored lasers, flashes of light whose duration is shorter than a femtosecond (a billionth of a millionth of a second) can be created. Such short pulses are necessary to probe and to understand the ultrafast electronic processes that occur on these time scales. With this new understanding, new ultrafast electronic devices may be constructed. (2) By using all these lasers with different colors, a large number of atomic and molecular species can be investigated simultaneously. Such a capability is necessary to better understand the structures of complex molecules, including biological molecules such as proteins. 3) A device that produces millions of lasers could be used to control certain chemical reactions with unprecedented precision. As a result, specific chemical products (such as pharmaceutical drugs) may be synthesized much more efficiently. The research provides human resources training. Graduate students and undergraduate students participate in research that is at the forefront of optical physics and laser sciences. They will acquire skills that are critical for the future high technology workforce.