Feature
Advances in Yb:Fiber Frequency Comb Technology
Femtosecond-laser frequency combs revolutionized the field of precision metrology after their introduction in 1999. Today, they are commonly used in atomic clock calibration, low-noise frequency synthesis, astronomical spectrograph calibration and precision spectroscopy. Scientists are now pushing to extend frequency combs into the mid-infrared and extreme ultraviolet spectral region with Yb:fiber technology.
Artist’s impression of an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) frequency comb, which creates attosecond pulse bursts at XUV wavelengths. Each of the resulting harmonics has its own set of “teeth,” creating a frequency comb within each harmonic.
The Ye group and Brad Baxley, JILA
A frequency comb is a visual model of a mode-locked laser spectrum generated from a series of femtosecond (fs) pulses. A train of pulses from a mode-locked laser produces a spectrum with a series of sharp spectral lines, each at a specific frequency, that resemble the teeth of a comb. The combs typically operate in the near-infrared and visible spectrum. However, various spectroscopic applications rely on combs that cover the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) as well as the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral region, enabled by high-power sources to drive nonlinear conversion schemes.
…Log in or become a member to view the full text of this article.
This article may be available for purchase via the search at Optica Publishing Group.
Optica Members get the full text of Optics & Photonics News, plus a variety of other member benefits.