Single-shot interferometric approach to background free broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy

Published

January 5, 2009

Author(s)

Young Jong Lee, Marcus T. Cicerone

Abstract

We introduce an interferometric approach to suppress the nonresonant background (NRB) contribution to a broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectrum. Single-shot interferometry is conclusive to rapid imaging mode. A pulse shaper prepares a probe pulse with two spectral components of differing phase. When the CARS fields generated by two out-of-phase components are optically mixed, NRB signal is greatly reduced while a resonant CARS signal remains with minimal attenuation. We discuss and demonstrate two model schemes for the interfering pulse components: (1) two pulses with different bandwidths and the same center frequency (ps-fs scheme) and (2) two pulses with the same bandwidth and shifted center frequencies (ps-ps scheme). In both schemes, only the resonant signal from the "3-color" CARS mechanism survives. The resonant signal from "2-color" CARS mechanism vanishes along with the NRB. We discuss optimization conditions for signal intensity and shape of resonant CARS peaks. Experimental CARS spectra of c-hexane and benzonitrile demonstrate feasibility of these approaches.

Citation

Optics Express

Volume

17

Issue

1

Pub Type

Journals

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Keywords

coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering, pulse shaping, broadband CARS microscopy

Citation

Lee, Y. and Cicerone, M. (2009), Single-shot interferometric approach to background free broadband coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy, Optics Express, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=854443 (Accessed October 8, 2025)