Caltech chemists have developed a precise ruler of terahertz light that will aid in the study of organic molecules in space, and the soft interactions between molecules in water. Due to its resemblance to a hair comb, the ruler is called a terahertz frequency comb,
Light can come in many frequencies, only a small fraction of which can be seen by humans. Between the invisible low-frequency radio waves used by cell phones and the high frequencies associated with infrared light lies a fairly wide swath of the electromagnetic spectrum occupied by what are called terahertz, or sometimes submillimeter, waves. Exploitation of these waves could lead to many new applications in fields ranging from medical imaging to astronomy, but terahertz waves have proven tricky to produce and study in the laboratory. Now, Caltech chemists have created a device that generates and detects terahertz waves over a wide spectral range with extreme precision, allowing it to be used as an unparalleled tool for measuring terahertz waves. The new device is an example of what is known as a frequency comb, which uses ultrafast pulsed lasers, or oscillators, to produce thousands of unique frequencies of radiation distributed evenly across a spectrum like the teeth of a comb. Scientists can then use them like rulers, lining up the teeth like tick marks to very precisely measure light frequencies. The first frequency combs, developed in the 1990s, earned their creators (John Hall of JILA and Theordor Hánsch of the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and Ludwig Maximilians University Munich) the 2005 Nobel Prize in physics.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
