Mid-Infrared Precision Frequency Combs

A broad and stable comb of optical frequencies generated by a femtosecond laser is a useful tool for precision optical measurements. Such sources have great utility in the construction of more accurate atomic clocks and in high precision spectroscopy. While  there has been a great deal of work on the generation of frequency combs in the visible and near IR, there has not been as much work at IR wavelengths. Q-Peak proposes to develop a mid-IR optical frequency comb by constructing a femtosecond laser based on a relatively new solid-state laser medium. The laser system would combine several unique technologies that have been developed at Q-Peak.   BENEFIT: The development of the mid-IR optical frequency comb laser source will address the emerging applications of optical frequency metrology for atomic clocks, high precision spectroscopy, and atmospheric studies. In addition, a femtosecond mid-IR laser as a stand alone device can be of great interest for a number of applications including biological and medical imaging (optical coherence tomography, eye surgery), trace gas monitoring, and laser cooling.)