MRI: Development of a single-mode terahertz free electron lasers for research in materials, physics, chemistry and biology

MRI：开发单模太赫兹自由电子激光器，用于材料、物理、化学和生物学研究

基本信息

批准号：
1626681
负责人：
Mark Sherwin
金额：
$ 74.93万
依托单位：
University of California-Santa Barbara
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2016
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2016-08-01 至 2021-07-31
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1626681&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
MRI Development single mode terahertz

项目摘要

The terahertz frequency range lies at the heart of the electromagnetic spectrum, between the domains of electronics and optics. An electromagnetic wave with a frequency of one terahertz oscillates one trillion cycles per second?about 1000 times faster than the electromagnetic waves used by cell phones, and 500 times slower than the electromagnetic waves that constitute visible light. Terahertz electromagnetic waves have been, so far, relatively little used by society because they are hard to generate. However, that is changing rapidly, propelled by revolutions in optics and electronics. The UC Santa Barbara Free-Electron lasers are the brightest sources of tunable terahertz radiation in the world. This project will increase the brightness available to users of the UCSB Free-Electron Laser facility by a factor between 100 and 1000. The upgraded facility will enable fundamental research on the interaction of electromagnetic radiation with electronic materials, molecules, and biological matter. The insights gained from this fundamental research will have important implications for information technology, defense, and biotechnology. Terahertz technology is rapidly advancing, with tabletop sources now available that generate peak electric fields in excess of 1 MV/cm (peak power 106 W) in pulses with bandwidths of ~1 THz, and much more compact electronic sources that generate mW powers with sub-kHz linewidths. An increasing number of fascinating scientific questions and important technological developments require access to tunable terahertz electromagnetic fields with very high spectral brightness, which combine extremely high power and electric field with extremely narrow linewidth. The major research instrumentation to be developed here will greatly enhance the state of the art in this high-power/narrow-linewidth niche. The UC Santa Barbara Free-Electron Lasers, which are tunable from 0.24 to 4.5 THz with 1 kW power in few-microsecond pulses, will be enhanced by reducing the linewidth of the emitted radiation to 1 MHz over their entire tuning range while precisely controlling and measuring the frequency of the emitted radiation and enabling ?slicing? of the Free-Electron Laser (FEL) output into a series of pulses with durations variable from ~1 ns to the full few-microsecond pulse duration. The free-electron laser enhancements will enable important new research in condensed matter physics, chemistry and biology by (1) improving the precision and control of several experimental methodologies that have already been developed at the UC Santa Barbara FEL facility, and (2) enabling some experiments that could not previously be envisioned. This development heavily leverages more than 35 years of infrastructure, investment, institutional commitment, and expertise at UC Santa Barbara.

Terahertz频率范围位于电子和光学域之间的电磁频谱的核心。一个频率为1 Terahertz的电磁波可振荡每秒1万亿个循环？比手机使用的电磁波快1000倍，比构成可见光的电磁波慢500倍。到目前为止，Terahertz电磁波已经相对较少使用，因为它们很难产生。但是，这是由于光学和电子产品的革命所推动的，这正在迅速变化。加州大学圣塔芭芭拉（UC Santa Barbara）加州大学（UC Santa Barbara）自由电子激光器是世界上最明亮的Terahertz辐射的最明亮来源。该项目将使UCSB自由电子激光器设施的使用者可用的亮度增加100到1000。升级的设施将对电磁辐射与电子材料，分子和生物学物质的相互作用进行基础研究。从这项基础研究中获得的见解将对信息技术，防御和生物技术产生重要影响。 Terahertz技术正在迅速发展，现在有台式电源可产生高于1 mV/cm的峰值电场（峰值功率106 W），其带宽约为1 THz，并产生更紧凑的电子源，并产生具有Sub-Khz LineWidths的MW功率。越来越多的引人入胜的科学问题和重要的技术发展需要使用非常高的光谱亮度来访问可调的Terahertz电磁场，这将极高的功率和电场与极狭窄的线宽相结合。这里要开发的主要研究工具将在这个高功率/窄线宽的利基市场中极大地增强最新技术的状态。加州大学圣塔芭芭拉分校的自由电子激光器可以通过将发射辐射的线路降低到整个调音范围，同时控制和测量发出的辐射频率并测量散布的频率，从而增强1 kW功率，并在几个微秒脉冲中以1 kW的功率调整为1 kW的功率。自由电子激光器（FEL）输出成一系列脉冲，持续时间从〜1 ns到整个几微秒脉冲持续时间。自由电子激光增强功能将通过（1）提高在UC Santa Barbara Fel设施已经开发的几种实验方法的精确性和控制来实现凝聚态物理，化学和生物学的重要新研究，（2）启用一些以前无法设想的实验。这种发展在大量利用了超过35年的基础设施，投资，机构承诺和专业知识。