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Review of Scientific Instruments

Cavity enhanced absorption and cavity enhanced magnetic rotation spectroscopy

R. Engeln, Giel Berden, Rudy Peeters, Gerard Meijer

Published Nov 1, 1998• 347 citations
Publisher

Abstract

It is experimentally demonstrated that a narrow band continuous wave (cw) light source can be used in combination with a high-finesse optically stable cavity to perform sensitive, high-resolution direct absorption and optical rotation spectroscopy in an amazingly simple experimental setup, using ideas from the field of cavity ring down spectroscopy. Light from a scanning narrow band cw laser is coupled into the cavity via accidental coincidences of the laser frequency with the frequency of one of the multitude of modes of the cavity. The absorption and polarization rotation information is extracted from a measurement of the time-integrated light intensity leaking out of the cavity as a function of laser wavelength.

DOI
10.1063/1.1149176

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Cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy of molecular oxygen

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A high-finesse optical cavity was employed to perform highly sensitive spectroscopy of molecular oxygen at wavelengths near 763 nm. An equivalent absorption length of ∼1 km was obtained by a 26-cm-long optical cavity with a finesse of 6000. An extended cavity diode laser was frequency locked to the cavity, and pure absorption profiles were recovered by monitoring of the cavity transmission during continuous scans of the cavity resonance through O2 rotational lines, allowing a detailed investigation of the line shapes. Phase modulation of the laser at a frequency equal to the cavity free-spectral-range frequency was employed for detection of weak absorption signals inside the cavity. A minimum detectable absorption coefficient of 6.9×10-11 cm-1 Hz-1/2 was measured. Finally, a test of the symmetrization postulate in 16O nuclei was demonstrated.

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Birefringence-induced frequency beating in high-finesse cavities by continuous-wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy

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By analyzing the decaying intensity, leaking out a high-finesse cavity previously ``filled'' by a cw laser source (using the cavity ring-down spectroscopy technique), we observed frequency beating between what we think are two orthogonal eigenpolarization states of the intracavity electromagnetic field. The time decay (ring down) is analyzed by varying the angle of the polarization analyzer located in front of the detector. A full modeling of the observed signal is proposed. It is based on the Jones matrix formalism required for modeling the cavity behavior following a rotated phase shifter. The full transfer function is first established in the frequency domain, and then Fourier transformed to recover the temporal response. The same optical cavity, i.e., constituted of the same set of mirrors, is used at two different wavelengths ($\ensuremath{\sim}800$ and $\ensuremath{\sim}880$ nm). It demonstrates the differences in behavior between a high-finesse cavity $(\ensuremath{\sim}400\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}000)$ and a lower finesse cavity $(\ensuremath{\sim}50\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}000)$. Beating frequency, characteristics time, and beat amplitude are mainly discussed versus the analyzer angle. A cavity birefringence of $\ensuremath{\sim}1.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$ rad, resulting from the mirror birefringence is suggested. If the current analysis is in agreement with pulsed CRDS experiments (polarimetry) obtained in an isotropic moderate-finesse cavity, it differs from a recent work report on a high-finesse cavity associated with a source mode locking [Phys. Rev. A 85, 013837 (2012)].

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We report a method for rapidly scanning a cw-laser through optical cavity resonances. This technique involves a microwave source and an electro-optic phase modulator, giving high sensitivity, wide tunability and fast acquisition rates.

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Dynamic Response of the Optical Resonant Cavity to Light-wave

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The dynamic response of optical resonant cavity has been theoretically studied,by taking resonant cavity as a linear and time invariant system and through the approach of Signal Processing.The mathematical description obtained could fit any form of light waves.From the perspective of Signal Processing,the traditional pulse and continues wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy could be considered as observation of impulse response and step response respectively.Furthermore,the cavity response to the light-wave linearly frequency chirped has been studied,in the condition of slow chirp.The Fourier analysis of light power passed through cavity has been made and an analytic description has been given,which reveals the fact that the signal spectrum of light power is related to the absorption spectrum of material inside cavity.Based on this theoretic analysis,a new approach of cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy has been put forward,called Frequency Domain Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy.The result would facilitates the research of cavity enhanced spectroscopy techniques,as well others using resonant cavity,such as P-D-H laser frequency stabilization.

ACTA PHOTONICA SINICA•Jan 1, 2015•0 citations
It is experimentally demonstrated that a narrow band continuous wave (cw) light source can be used in combination with a high-finesse optically stable cavity to perform sensitive, high-resolution direct absorption and optical rotation spectroscopy in an amazingly simple experimental setup, using ideas from the field of cavity ring down spectroscopy. Light from a scanning narrow band cw laser is coupled into the cavity via accidental coincidences of the laser frequency with the frequency of one of the multitude of modes of the cavity. The absorption and polarization rotation information is extracted from a measurement of the time-integrated light intensity leaking out of the cavity as a function of laser wavelength.
A high-finesse optical cavity was employed to perform highly sensitive spectroscopy of molecular oxygen at wavelengths near 763 nm. An equivalent absorption length of ∼1 km was obtained by a 26-cm-long optical cavity with a finesse of 6000. An extended cavity diode laser was frequency locked to the cavity, and pure absorption profiles were recovered by monitoring of the cavity transmission during continuous scans of the cavity resonance through O2 rotational lines, allowing a detailed investigation of the line shapes. Phase modulation of the laser at a frequency equal to the cavity free-spectral-range frequency was employed for detection of weak absorption signals inside the cavity. A minimum detectable absorption coefficient of 6.9×10-11 cm-1 Hz-1/2 was measured. Finally, a test of the symmetrization postulate in 16O nuclei was demonstrated.
We introduce optical feedback frequency stabilized cavity ring-down spectroscopy (OFFS-CRDS), a near-shot-noise-limited technique that combines kilohertz resolution with an absorption detection sensitivity of 5×10(-13) cm(-1) Hz(-1/2). Its distributed feedback laser source is stabilized to a highly stable V-shaped reference cavity by optical feedback and fine-tuned by means of single-sideband modulation. The stability of this narrow laser is transferred to a ring-down (RD) cavity using a new fibered Pound-Drever-Hall (PDH) locking scheme without a dedicated electro-optic phase modulator, yielding several hundred RD events per second. We demonstrate continuous coverage of more than 7 nm with a baseline noise of 5×10(-12) cm(-1) and a dynamic range spanning six decades. With its resonant intracavity light intensity on the order of 1 kW/cm2, the spectrometer was used for observing a Lamb dip in a transition of carbon dioxide involving four vibrational quanta. Saturating such a weak transition at 160 μW input power, OFFS-CRDS paves the way to Doppler-free molecular overtone spectroscopy for precision measurements of hyperfine structures and pressure shifts.
By analyzing the decaying intensity, leaking out a high-finesse cavity previously ``filled'' by a cw laser source (using the cavity ring-down spectroscopy technique), we observed frequency beating between what we think are two orthogonal eigenpolarization states of the intracavity electromagnetic field. The time decay (ring down) is analyzed by varying the angle of the polarization analyzer located in front of the detector. A full modeling of the observed signal is proposed. It is based on the Jones matrix formalism required for modeling the cavity behavior following a rotated phase shifter. The full transfer function is first established in the frequency domain, and then Fourier transformed to recover the temporal response. The same optical cavity, i.e., constituted of the same set of mirrors, is used at two different wavelengths ($\ensuremath{\sim}800$ and $\ensuremath{\sim}880$ nm). It demonstrates the differences in behavior between a high-finesse cavity $(\ensuremath{\sim}400\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}000)$ and a lower finesse cavity $(\ensuremath{\sim}50\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}000)$. Beating frequency, characteristics time, and beat amplitude are mainly discussed versus the analyzer angle. A cavity birefringence of $\ensuremath{\sim}1.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}5}$ rad, resulting from the mirror birefringence is suggested. If the current analysis is in agreement with pulsed CRDS experiments (polarimetry) obtained in an isotropic moderate-finesse cavity, it differs from a recent work report on a high-finesse cavity associated with a source mode locking [Phys. Rev. A 85, 013837 (2012)].
The dynamic response of optical resonant cavity has been theoretically studied,by taking resonant cavity as a linear and time invariant system and through the approach of Signal Processing.The mathematical description obtained could fit any form of light waves.From the perspective of Signal Processing,the traditional pulse and continues wave cavity ring-down spectroscopy could be considered as observation of impulse response and step response respectively.Furthermore,the cavity response to the light-wave linearly frequency chirped has been studied,in the condition of slow chirp.The Fourier analysis of light power passed through cavity has been made and an analytic description has been given,which reveals the fact that the signal spectrum of light power is related to the absorption spectrum of material inside cavity.Based on this theoretic analysis,a new approach of cavity enhanced absorption spectroscopy has been put forward,called Frequency Domain Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy.The result would facilitates the research of cavity enhanced spectroscopy techniques,as well others using resonant cavity,such as P-D-H laser frequency stabilization.