Ideas
Frequency Combs for Chemistry, Biology and Medicine
Optical frequency combs can provide new insights into molecular diagnostics and disease mechanisms.
An illustration of an electro-optic frequency comb that can be tuned using microwave signals. [Second Bay Studios / Harvard SEAS]
An optical frequency comb is a spectrum of evenly spaced, phase-coherent laser lines that acts as a kind of ruler for light, measuring frequencies quickly and accurately. In 2022, my student and I published a paper about such combs in aqueous and air environments at visible to near-infrared wavelengths (Opt. Express, doi: 10.1364/OE.451631). Our research showed for the first time the generation of a frequency comb in an aqueous environment—a promising area with technical challenges and vast potential in chemical, biological and medical fields.
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