Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 1, 2025
09:49
An Experimental Protocol for Femtosecond NIR/UV - XUV Pump-Probe Experiments with Free-Electron Lasers
Published on: October 23, 2018
16.0K
Near-ultraviolet photon-counting dual-comb spectroscopy
Bingxin Xu1, Zaijun Chen1,2, Theodor W Hänsch1,3
1Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany.
Nature
|March 6, 2024
Summary
Researchers developed a photon-counting dual-comb spectroscopy method for ultraviolet light. This breakthrough enables high-resolution, broadband ultraviolet spectroscopy, crucial for atomic and molecular diagnostics.
Area of Science:
- Quantum optics and spectroscopy
- Ultraviolet (UV) and extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) spectroscopy
- Atomic and molecular physics
Background:
- Ultraviolet spectroscopy offers unique insights into matter structure, with applications in atmospheric photochemistry and astronomical observations.
- Dual-comb spectroscopy excels at long wavelengths, providing broad spectral range and high resolution.
- Nonlinear frequency conversion is inefficient in the UV, limiting traditional dual-comb applications in this region.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend dual-comb spectroscopy advantages into the ultraviolet spectral region.
- To develop a photon-counting approach for efficient UV spectroscopy.
- To enable precision broadband spectroscopy at short wavelengths.
Main Methods:
- Demonstrated a photon-counting spectrometer utilizing two frequency combs with slightly different repetition frequencies.
- Employed a multiplexed recording strategy on a single photon-counter for optimal measurement time.
- Conducted experiments in the near-ultraviolet and visible spectral ranges using alkali-atom vapor.
Main Results:
- Achieved a signal-to-noise ratio at the quantum limit.
- Provided wide-span, high-resolution frequency calibration with atomic clock accuracy.
- Operated with low power per comb line (femtowatt range).
Conclusions:
- The photon-counting approach successfully extends dual-comb spectroscopy into the UV.
- This work paves the way for extreme-ultraviolet dual-comb spectroscopy.
- Opens new applications for photon-level diagnostics in atomic and molecular studies.
Related Concept Videos
01:02Ultraviolet and Visible (UV–Vis) Spectroscopy: Overview
2.6K
Ultraviolet–visible (UV–visible or UV–Vis) spectroscopy is an analytical technique that investigates the interaction between matter and UV–Vis light within the electromagnetic spectrum. This method is widely used for its versatility, simplicity, and relatively quick data acquisition, making it valuable for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. When UV–Vis radiation passes through a material, molecules absorb light depending on the energy required for...
2.6K
01:14UV–Vis Spectrometers
1.3K
The absorbance of UV and visible (UV–visible) radiations is measured using a UV–visible spectrophotometer. Deuterium lamps, which emit UV radiation, and tungsten lamps, which produce radiation in the visible region, are used as light sources in UV–visible spectrophotometers. A monochromator or prism is used for diffraction grating, i.e., to split the incoming radiation into different wavelengths. A system of slits is used to focus the desired wavelength on the sample cell.
1.3K
01:16UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions
1.4K
In Ultraviolet–Visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, the absorption of electromagnetic radiation is used to probe the electronic structure of molecules. This technique provides insights into molecular electronic transitions, particularly the movement of electrons between different molecular orbitals. Radiation is absorbed if the energy of the electromagnetic radiation passing through the molecule is precisely equal to the energy difference between the excited and ground states. During this...
1.4K
01:32UV–Vis Spectroscopy of Conjugated Systems
7.0K
Organic compounds with conjugated double bonds show strong absorption features in the UV–visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum attributed to π → π* electronic excitations. Generally, a UV–vis absorption spectrum is recorded as a plot of absorbance vs wavelength. The wavelength of maximum absorbance, which manifests as a peak in the absorption spectrum, is denoted as λmax.
One of the factors influencing λmax is the extent...
One of the factors influencing λmax is the extent...
7.0K
01:26Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy: Instrumentation
219
Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is the common plasma source used in atomic emission spectroscopy (AES), a technique that detects and analyzes various elements in a sample. This method is often called inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES).
There are three main types of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) instruments: sequential, simultaneous multichannel, and Fourier transform instruments, with the latter being less commonly used....
There are three main types of inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) instruments: sequential, simultaneous multichannel, and Fourier transform instruments, with the latter being less commonly used....
219
01:29UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Woodward–Fieser Rules
24.3K
UV–Visible absorption spectra of conjugated dienes arise from the lowest energy π → π* transitions. The light-absorbing part of the molecule is called the chromophore, and the substituents directly attached to the chromophore are called auxochromes. A strong correlation exists between the absorption maxima, λmax, and the structure of a conjugated π system. The Woodward–Fieser rules predict the value of λmax for a given...
24.3K