Cavity-enhanced direct frequency comb spectroscopy.pdf

Cavity-enhanced direct frequency comb spectroscopy Michael J. Thorpe and Jun Ye JILA, National Institute of Standards and Technology and University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0440, USA Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0390, USA Abstract Cavity-enhanced direct frequency comb spec- troscopy combines broad spectral bandwidth, high spec- tral resolution, precise frequency calibration, and ultra- high detection sensitivity, all in one experimental plat- form based on an optical frequency comb interacting with a high-finesse optical cavity. Precise control of the optical frequency comb allows highly efficient, coher- ent coupling of individual comb components with corre- sponding resonant modes of the high-finesse cavity. The long cavity lifetime dramatically enhances the effective interaction between the light field and intracavity mat- ter, increasing the sensitivity for measurement of optical losses by a factor that is on the order of the cavity fi- nesse. The use of low-dispersion mirrors permits almost the entire spectral bandwidth of the frequency comb to be employed for detection, covering a range of ～10% of the actual optical frequency. The light transmitted from the cavity is spectrally resolved to provide a multitude of detection channels with spectral resolutions ranging from a several gigahertz to hundreds of kilohertz. In this review we will discuss the principle of cavity-enhanced direct frequency comb spectroscopy and the various im- plementations of such systems. In particular, we discuss several types of UV, optical, and IR frequency comb sources and optical cavity designs that can be used for specific spectroscopic applications. We present several cavity-comb coupling methods to take advantage of the broad spectral bandwidth and narrow spectral compo- nents of a frequency comb. Finally, we present a series of experimental measurements on trace gas detections, hu- man breath analysis, and characterization of cold molec-