We have measured coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectra between crystal-field levels of the
2F5/2 and
2F7/2 manifolds of the
Ce3+ ion diluted in
LuPO4 at \ensuremath{\sim}10 K. The anti-Stokes signal is nearly resonant with the lowest crystal-field level of the 5
d1 configuration of
Ce3+ at 30 460 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1}$. For a
LuPO4 crystal doped with 0.06 mol %
Ce3+, we found enhancements of the third-order susceptibility \ensuremath{\Vert}${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{(3)\mathrm{R}}$/${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\chi}}}^{(3)\mathrm{NR}}$\ensuremath{\Vert} as high as 11.6. This enhancement is over 20 times larger than that seen previously in singly resonant experiments with pure rare-earth crystals.
Saturation effects in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy are discussed. The discussion is limited to Raman-resonant CARS (${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{l}\ensuremath{-}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{s}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{21}$, where ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{l,s}$ are the frequencies of the pump fields with powers
Pl,s, and ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{21}$ is the frequency of the Raman transition $|1〉\ensuremath{\rightarrow}|2〉$) with the possible addition of a one-photon resonance (${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{l}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{31}$ is the frequency of the electronic transition $|1〉\ensuremath{\rightarrow}|3〉$). For these cases we show that the CARS polarization
pCARS is proportional to the off-diagonal density-matrix element ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{21}$. In order to determine ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{21}$, we use Laplace transforms to solve the Bloch equations for the effective two-level system
∣1〉 and
∣2〉 when ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{l}$ is far from resonance, or for the three-level system
∣1〉,∣2〉, and
∣3〉, when ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{l}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{31}$. The steady-state expression for
pCARS in the former case gives ${\mathcal{p}}_{\mathrm{CARS}}\ensuremath{\propto}{P}_{l}{P}_{s}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ at low powers and ${\mathcal{p}}_{\mathrm{CARS}}\ensuremath{\propto}{P}_{l}^{0}{P}_{s}^{\frac{\ensuremath{-}1}{2}}$ at high powers. In the three-level system, we show that when the pressure is low and at least one field is weak, the slow time dependence of ${\ensuremath{\rho}}_{21}$ must be considered. When one field is strong and the other weak, the CARS spectrum is Stark split. When
Pl is high, for example, ${\mathcal{p}}_{\mathrm{CARS}}\ensuremath{\propto}{P}_{l}^{0}{P}_{s}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ for ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{s}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{32}$ and ${\mathcal{p}}_{\mathrm{CARS}}\ensuremath{\propto}{({P}_{l}{P}_{s})}^{\frac{1}{2}}$ when ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{s}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{32}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}{V}_{13}$ where
V13 is the one-photon Rabi frequency for the $|1〉\ensuremath{\rightarrow}|3〉$ transition. The Wilcox-Lamb approximation is used to reduce the three-level Bloch equations to rate equations containing one- and two-photon terms. When the fields are so weak that both one- and two-photon terms are small compared to the decay terms, the usual expression for
pCARS is reproduced. If only the direct two-photon processes are important, the effective-two-system results are reproduced. When both fields are intense and nearly resonant, the steady state is rapidly achieved. The results for the case where one field is much stronger than the other are essentially the same as those for one strong and one weak field. When the fields are of comparable strength, ${\mathcal{p}}_{\mathrm{CARS}}\ensuremath{\propto}{P}_{l}^{\frac{1}{2}}{P}_{s}^{0}$ for ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{l}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{31}$ and ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{s}\ensuremath{\simeq}{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{32}$, and the CARS spectrum is split into five components.
The saturation threshold of a probe pulse in an ultrafast electronic-resonance-enhanced (ERE) coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) configuration is calculated. We demonstrate that while the underdamping condition is a sufficient condition for saturation of ERE-CARS with the long-pulse excitations, a transient gain must be achieved to saturate the ERE-CARS signal for the ultrafast probe regime. We identify that the area under the probe pulse can be used as a definitive parameter to determine the criterion for a saturation threshold for ultrafast ERE-CARS. From a simplified analytical solution and a detailed numerical calculation based on density-matrix equations, the saturation threshold of ERE-CARS is compared for a wide range of probe-pulse durations from the 10-ns to the 10-fs regime. The theory explains both qualitatively and quantitatively the saturation thresholds of resonant transitions and also gives a predictive capability for other pulse duration regimes. The presented criterion for the saturation threshold will be useful in establishing the design parameters for ultrafast ERE-CARS.
Time-resolved, electronically resonant, coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering is used to prepare and interrogate vibronic coherences of molecular iodine in matrix Ar. Coherences that involve evolution on the excited B(3Π0u) state, first- and third-order coherences, decay in less than one vibrational period (τ<300 fs). In contrast, as many as 200 vibrational periods of motion can be observed for Raman-prepared wave packets consisting of zero-phonon vibrational superpositions on the ground electronic state (second-order coherence). Packets consisting of v=4, 5 and v=3, 4, 5 on the X(1Σg) state decay with a half-life of 10±1 ps at 31 K, allowing a more accurate measure of vibrational level spacings and decoherence time than has been possible in frequency domain. The harmonic frequency of the molecule is reduced by 1.5 cm−1 (0.7%) in the matrix. The lack of recurrence in the excited electronic state ensures that the resonant anti-Stokes scattering arises only from the negative momentum component of the Raman packet. This momentum filter, which should be ubiquitous in condensed media, leads to a signal with deeper modulation than in the gas phase.
The theory of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) is extended to include the effect of pump fluctuations. The intensities and spectra of lines in resonant CARS are calculated to all orders in fields assuming a phase-diffusion model for waves at the two pump frequencies. The bandwidth of the two lasers enters in a much more complicated way than following a simple scaling of
T1 or
T2. Various resonances in CARS spectra due to dynamic splitting of the energy levels are discussed for a range of detunings, field intensities, and bandwidths. In contrast to the usual spectra in strong fields, the Rabi sidebands appear as dispersion-shaped structures. The laser linewidth is shown to change dramatically the CARS line shape. The case of no saturation is also treated, thus allowing for the inclusion of more general line shapes and fluctuations of the pump waves and the nonlinear susceptibility tensor ${\ensuremath{\chi}}^{(3)}$. Gaussian statistics of the pump field are shown to lead to enhancement factors in CARS intensity, similar to those appearing in the context of multiphoton absorption processes.