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Routledge eBooks

Basic Elements of Optical Spectroscopy

Janet Maria Vaughan

Published Nov 22, 2017• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This chapter presents a number of basic optical and spectroscopic tools, both mathematical and technical, with particular emphasis on those appropriate to Fabry–Perot interferometry. With a faster detector one may analyze the fluctuations of intensity themselves to derive information, giving intensity-fluctuation spectroscopy. In older spectroscopic methods the field is manipulated prior to detection. The 'products' of these spectroscopic methods — fluctuating intensity, visibility curve and spectrum — are obviously all related. In any spectroscopic experiment the light passing through the equipment has to be detected — either visually, or by emission of photoelectrons from a photocathode, or by direct interaction of the photons with a variety of recording mechanisms. For spectroscopic purposes one of the most important precautions relates quite simply to drying the plate. Practical photomultiplier operation, particularly for use with photon correlation spectroscopy, has been usefully discussed by C. J. Oliver.

DOI
10.1201/9780203736715-2

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This chapter presents a number of basic optical and spectroscopic tools, both mathematical and technical, with particular emphasis on those appropriate to Fabry–Perot interferometry. With a faster detector one may analyze the fluctuations of intensity themselves to derive information, giving intensity-fluctuation spectroscopy. In older spectroscopic methods the field is manipulated prior to detection. The 'products' of these spectroscopic methods — fluctuating intensity, visibility curve and spectrum — are obviously all related. In any spectroscopic experiment the light passing through the equipment has to be detected — either visually, or by emission of photoelectrons from a photocathode, or by direct interaction of the photons with a variety of recording mechanisms. For spectroscopic purposes one of the most important precautions relates quite simply to drying the plate. Practical photomultiplier operation, particularly for use with photon correlation spectroscopy, has been usefully discussed by C. J. Oliver.
This book offers a complete revision for its introduction to the quantum theory of light, including notable developments as well as improvements in presentation of basic theory and concepts, with continued emphasis on experimental aspects. The author provides a thorough overview on basic methods of classical and quantum mechanical measurements in quantum optics, enabling readers to analyze, summarize, and resolve quantum optical problems. The broad coverage of concepts and tools and its practical, experimental emphasis set it apart from other available resources. New discussions of timely topics such as the concept of the photon and distinguishability bring the entire contents up to date. Key Features: Provides a complete update of a classic textbook for the field. Features many new topics, including optical coherence, coherent and incoherent imaging, turbulence-free interferometry. Includes new chapters for intensity fluctuation correlation and thermal light ghost imaging, and biphoton imaging. Offers a complete overhaul of the introductory theory to give a more coherent and thorough treatment. Expands on discussions of optical tests of quantum theory, Popper’s experiment, Einstein’s locality questions, and the delayed choice quantum eraser.
Optical interferometry was at the heart of the revolution which ushered in the new era of twentieth century physics. For example, the Michelson interferometer was used to show that there is no detectable motion relative to the ‘ether’; a key experiment in support of special relativity. It is a wonderful tribute to Michelson that the same interferometer concept is central to the gravity-wave detectors which promise to provide new insights into general relativity and astrophysics in the twenty-first century. Similar tales can be told about the Sagnac and Mach–Zehnder interferometers as discussed in this chapter. We further note that the intensity correlation stellar interferometer of Hanbury- Brown and Twiss was a driving force in ushering in the modern era of quantum optics. We are thus motivated to develop the theory of field (amplitude) and photon (intensity) correlation interferometry. In doing so we will find that the subject provides us with an exquisite probe of the micro and macrocosmos, i.e., quantum mechanics and general relativity. With these thoughts in mind we here develop a framework to study the quantum statistical correlations of light. We will motivate the quantum correlation functions of the field operators from the standpoint of photodetection theory. Many experimentally observed quantities, such as photoelectron statistics and the spectral distribution of the field, can be related to the appropriate field correlation functions. These correlation functions are essential in the description of Young's double-slit experiment and the notion of the power spectrum of light.
Introduction In this chapter we will put the concept of coherence on a more mathematical basis. This will involve the formal definition of a number of functions that are used to describe the coherence properties of optical fields. These include the analytic signal, various correlation functions, and the degree of coherence for describing both temporal and spatial coherence. We shall see that the degree of temporal coherence is quantitatively related to the lineshape function and that the degree of spatial coherence between two points is determined by the size, intensity distribution, and location of an illuminating source. We will use the wave equation, and special solutions to the wave equation called Green's functions, to show how spatial coherence varies from point to point. The chapter will conclude with a discussion of how the intensity fluctuations of a source depend on its coherence properties, and we will examine a specific scheme, namely the Hanbury Brown–Twiss experiment, by means of which this relationship is studied. This discussion will involve a discussion of “photon statistics,” namely the time variation of the “detection” of photons from a source. In a quantum-mechanical context, square-law detectors respond to these quantized excitations of the optical field, which we call photons. In classical coherence theory it is advantageous to represent the real electromagnetic field by a complex quantity, both for its mathematical simplicity and because it serves to emphasize that coherence theory deals with phenomena that are sensitive to the “envelope” or average intensity of the field.
This chapter reviews the basic quantum mechanics of spectroscopy, analyzing forms of spectroscopy based on the measurement of energy as an atom or molecule undergoes a change in quantum states. It looks at different aspects of quantum mechanics in order to understand instrumental techniques and analysis involving the interaction of light and matter. It also looks at how spectroscopy explores particular energy level differences between quantum states in molecules and atoms. The chapter stresses the importance of quantum mechanics in the development of spectroscopic techniques used to investigate atomic composition and chemical structures. It cites an example that outlines the quantum mechanic events that led to the line spectrum of hydrogen in a gas in a discharge tube.
The purpose of this investigation was to construct the experimental apparatus for measuring second-order intensity correlation functions of the type T2,2 (x,t,x,t+T) = < : I(x,t)I(x,t+T):>. This measurement was applied to the radiation field produced by a two axial mode Helium-Neon gas laser in order to verify the intensity fluctuation correlations due to the beating of the two axial modes of the laser. The axial mode separation was measured for comparison with a scanning Fabry Perot interferometer and also an RF spectrum analyzer. The correlation measurement was also applied to the second harmonic radiation field produced by the. parametric interaction in a LiNb03 crystal pumped with two axial modes. The experimental determination of the correlation <:I(x,t)I(x,t+T):> involves a time-spectroscopy measurement in which one photon is detected at point x, and another at point x, T seconds later, and measuring the probability of two-fold coincident detection as a function of T. The radiation field was split into two beams at a partially transmitting reflector, each of which was directed incident on the photocathode of a photomultiplier tube. The photoelectron pulses from the tubes were amplified and standardized. These standardized pulses were then temporally correlated with the use of a time-to-amplitude converter (TAC) and a multi-channel pulse height analyzer (MA). The time-to-amplitude conversions generated by the TAC were stored in the channels of the PHA, which was a direct measure of the two-fold delayed coincidence detection rate, R(T). The second-order intensity correlation functions <:I(x,t)I(x,t+T):> are determined from measurements of R(T). The fluctuating components of the second-order intensity correlation functions were found to be in agreement with what would be expected on a classical basis. Correspondingly, the capability is demonstrated of the experimental apparatus measuring a quantity relating to the second-order intensity correlation function.