Optical waveform measurement for attosecond science and trace chemical detection

用于阿秒科学和痕量化学检测的光学波形测量

• 批准号: RGPIN-2019-06877
• 负责人: Hammond, Thomas
• 金额: $ 1.75万
• 依托单位: University of Windsor
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=716467
• 关键词: Optical; waveform; measurement; attosecond; science

Attosecond science (1 as = 10-18 s), or attoscience, is uniquely capable of resolving the rapid motion of electrons in atoms and molecules. The principal aim of this proposal is to extend these laser-based techniques to study the motion of electrons in liquids and solids. These experiments will have a major impact in opening up a large frontier in light-matter interactions, namely quantum and nonlinear optics, photonics, electro-optics, condensed matter physics, and materials science. In addition, attoscience can be combined with other high spatial resolution techniques, such as atomic force microscopy (AFM), to resolve the motion of electrons in nano-engineered objects such as quantum wells, quantum dots, and nanotips. Our proposed technologies that have unprecedented sensitivity to attosecond electronic motion in external electric fields have potential applications not only for next-generation electronics, electrical engineering, and photonics, but also for molecular detection, standoff detection, and biosensing. The goal of my research group, the Attosecond Condensed Matter Experiments (ACME) laboratory at the University of Windsor, is to create and leverage these attosecond techniques and apply them to condensed matter to discover ultrafast processes, control electronic motion in engineered material, and develop new photonics technologies. In my lab, we will model, engineer, and exploit nonlinear processes in materials for attosecond pulse generation and detection. Although femtosecond (1 fs = 10-15 s) laser sources are commercially available, compressing these pulses to the attosecond regime is challenging, but essential for attoscience. We will investigate and develop these attosecond pulse sources in my group. Through strong-field laser pulses of just a few optical cycles, we will drive currents and follow electronic states to track electron dynamics. Furthermore, we will take advantage of the sensitivity of these highly nonlinear processes to perturbing fields as sensors for optical fields and to reconstruct optical waveforms, developing a novel tool for time-dependent infrared spectroscopy with unprecedented resolution. The increased sensitivity to perturbing fields can be leveraged with other established techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) for attosecond time resolution at the nanoscale, an unprecedented combination of two disparate areas of research. Moreover, through this technique we will develop an enhanced spectroscopic measurement in the infrared, where molecular vibrational signatures can distinguish biological samples, which will be useful for remote sensing and medicine.

阿秒科学（1 as = 10-18 s）或阿托科学，具有独特的能力来解决原子和分子中电子的快速运动。该提案的主要目的是扩展这些基于激光的技术来研究液体和固体中电子的运动。这些实验将对开辟光与物质相互作用的广阔前沿领域产生重大影响，即量子和非线性光学、光子学、电光、凝聚态物理和材料科学。此外，原子科学可以与其他高空间分辨率技术（例如原子力显微镜（AFM））相结合，来解析纳米工程物体（例如量子阱、量子点和纳米尖端）中电子的运动。我们提出的技术对外部电场中的阿秒电子运动具有前所未有的敏感性，不仅可用于下一代电子学、电气工程和光子学，而且还可用于分子检测、远距离检测和生物传感。 我的研究小组，即温莎大学阿秒凝聚态实验 (ACME) 实验室，其目标是创建和利用这些阿秒技术，并将其应用于凝聚态物质，以发现超快过程、控制工程材料中的电子运动，并开发新的光子技术。在我的实验室中，我们将对材料中的非线性过程进行建模、设计和开发，以产生和检测阿秒脉冲。 尽管飞秒（1 fs = 10-15 s）激光源已在商业上可用，但将这些脉冲压缩到阿秒范围具有挑战性，但对于阿托科学至关重要。我们将在我的小组中研究和开发这些阿秒脉冲源。通过仅几个光学周期的强场激光脉冲，我们将驱动电流并跟踪电子状态以跟踪电子动力学。此外，我们将利用这些高度非线性过程对扰动场的敏感性作为光场传感器并重建光学波形，开发一种具有前所未有的分辨率的瞬态红外光谱的新型工具。 对扰动场的敏感性提高可以与其他现有技术结合使用，例如原子力显微镜（AFM），以实现纳米级阿秒时间分辨率，这是两个不同研究领域的前所未有的结合。此外，通过这项技术，我们将开发一种增强的红外光谱测量方法，其中分子振动特征可以区分生物样本，这将有助于遥感和医学。