title: Spectrally tailored narrowband pulses for femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy in the range 330-750 nm.
abstract: Spectral compression of femtosecond pulses by second harmonic generation in the presence of substantial group velocity dispersion provides a convenient source of narrowband Raman pump pulses for femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS). We discuss here a simple and efficient modification that dramatically increases the versatility of the second harmonic spectral compression technique. Adding a spectral filter following second harmonic generation produces narrowband pulses with a superior temporal profile. This simple modification i) increases the Raman gain for a given pulse energy, ii) improves the spectral resolution, iii) suppresses coherent oscillations associated with slowly dephasing vibrations, and iv) extends the useful tunable range to at least 330-750 nm.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Fisica, Universita' Roma Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 2, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pontecorvo
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ferrante
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Elles
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Scopigno
mesh_terms: D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008029:Lighting / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012815:Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman / Q000295:instrumentation*