Sponsor: National Science Foundation
Title: CAREER: Impulsive Molecular
Modulation for Generating Broadly Tunable, Tailored
Femtosecond Laser Pulses
Investigator(s):
R.
Bartels
Abstract
The motivation of this CAREER
proposal is to establish an integrated research
and educational program that will study the basic
science of impulsive molecular modulation (IMM)
to improve ultrafast laser technology while training
students in the fundamentals of ultrafast optical
science (UOS). The goal of the proposed work is
to develop IMM as a method of creating a single
source of tailored, femtosecond light pulses that
are continuously tunable from < 200 to >
3000 nm. To achieve this goal, we will study the
physics of IMM and push the coherence excitation
to its fundamental limits. The research described
in this proposal will explore the basic science
and limitations of IMM. We will also study the
non-time-stationary transients in the nonlinear
optical susceptibility produced by IMM for direct
pulse shaping during frequency conversion. This
technology will provide multiple phase-coherent,
shaped, broadly tunable fs laser pulses. The versatility
of this source will allow simultaneous laser control
over nuclear and electronic motion in molecules
and the testing of coherent control techniques
over a large spectral range. The integrated educational
activities will be focused on distilling the core
principles of UOS and IMM for students at grade-school
through graduate educational levels. To encourage
the participation of minority students in science,
I will develop optical demonstrations that elucidate
the core principles of UOS and develop curiosity
and excitement about optics. These demonstrations
will be used for recruiting of potential minority
students in partnership with existing minority
outreach programs at CSU and K-12 outreach. More
rigorous optical demonstrations in undergraduate
engineering courses will illuminate the use of
Fourier transform theory and linear systems to
current optics research. Finally, in an effort
to improve graduate optics training in Colorado,
I am developing a shared educational platform
for course exchange between Colorado higher educational
institutions. This program will distribute the
teaching among faculty members while increasing
course availability for students and facilitate
rapid dissemination of research discoveries between
institutions to a broad base of students. |
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