Direct frequency comb spectroscopy in the extreme ultraviolet

The development of the optical frequency comb (a spectrum consisting of a series of evenly spaced lines) has revolutionized metrology and precision spectroscopy owing to its ability to provide a precise and direct link between microwave and optical frequencies. A further advance in frequency comb technology is the generation of frequency combs in the extreme-ultraviolet spectral range by means of high-harmonic generation in a femtosecond enhancement cavity. Until now, combs produced by this method have lacked sufficient power for applications, a drawback that has also hampered efforts to observe phase coherence of the high-repetition-rate pulse train produced by high-harmonic generation, which is an extremely nonlinear process. Here we report the generation of extreme-ultraviolet frequency combs, reaching wavelengths of 40?nanometres, by coupling a high-power near-infrared frequency comb to a robust femtosecond enhancement cavity. These combs are powerful enough for us to observe single-photon spectroscopy signals for both an argon transition at 82?nanometres and a neon transition at 63?nanometres, thus confirming the combs' coherence in the extreme ultraviolet. The absolute frequency of the argon transition has been determined by direct frequency comb spectroscopy. The resolved ten-megahertz linewidth of the transition, which is limited by the temperature of the argon atoms, is unprecedented in this spectral region and places a stringent upper limit on the linewidth of individual comb teeth. Owing to the lack of continuous-wave lasers, extreme-ultraviolet frequency combs are at present the only promising route to extending ultrahigh-precision spectroscopy to the spectral region below 100?nanometres. At such wavelengths there is a wide range of applications, including the spectroscopy of electronic transitions in molecules, experimental tests of bound-state and many-body quantum electrodynamics in singly ionized helium and neutral helium, the development of next-generation 'nuclear' clocks and searches for variation of fundamental constants using the enhanced sensitivity of highly charged ions.     

Nonlinear optics in the extreme ultraviolet

Nonlinear responses to an optical field are universal in nature but have been difficult to observe in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and soft X-ray regions owing to a lack of coherent intense light sources. High harmonic generation is a well-known nonlinear optical phenomenon and is now drawing much attention in attosecond pulse generation. For the application of high harmonics to nonlinear optics in the XUV and soft X-ray regime, optical pulses should have both large pulse energy and short pulse duration to achieve a high optical electric field. Here we show the generation of intense isolated pulses from a single harmonic (photon energy 27.9 eV) by using a sub-10-femtosecond blue laser pulse, producing a large dipole moment at the relatively low (ninth) harmonic order nonadiabatically. The XUV pulses with pulse durations of 950 attoseconds and 1.3 femtoseconds were characterized by an autocorrelation technique, based on two-photon above-threshold ionization of helium atoms. Because of the small cross-section for above-threshold ionization, such an autocorrelation measurement of XUV pulses with photon energy larger than the ionization energy of helium has not hitherto been demonstrated. The technique can be extended to the characterization of higher harmonics at shorter wavelengths.     

Optical frequency comb generation from a monolithic microresonator

Optical frequency combs provide equidistant frequency markers in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet, and can be used to link an unknown optical frequency to a radio or microwave frequency reference. Since their inception, frequency combs have triggered substantial advances in optical frequency metrology and precision measurements and in applications such as broadband laser-based gas sensing and molecular fingerprinting. Early work generated frequency combs by intra-cavity phase modulation; subsequently, frequency combs have been generated using the comb-like mode structure of mode-locked lasers, whose repetition rate and carrier envelope phase can be stabilized. Here we report a substantially different approach to comb generation, in which equally spaced frequency markers are produced by the interaction between a continuous-wave pump laser of a known frequency with the modes of a monolithic ultra-high-Q microresonator via the Kerr nonlinearity. The intrinsically broadband nature of parametric gain makes it possible to generate discrete comb modes over a 500-nm-wide span (approximately 70 THz) around 1,550 nm without relying on any external spectral broadening. Optical-heterodyne-based measurements reveal that cascaded parametric interactions give rise to an optical frequency comb, overcoming passive cavity dispersion. The uniformity of the mode spacing has been verified to within a relative experimental precision of 7.3 x 10(-18). In contrast to femtosecond mode-locked lasers, this work represents a step towards a monolithic optical frequency comb generator, allowing considerable reduction in size, complexity and power consumption. Moreover, the approach can operate at previously unattainable repetition rates, exceeding 100 GHz, which are useful in applications where access to individual comb modes is required, such as optical waveform synthesis, high capacity telecommunications or astrophysical spectrometer calibration.     

Molecular fingerprinting with the resolved modes of a femtosecond laser frequency comb

The control of the broadband frequency comb emitted from a mode-locked femtosecond laser has permitted a wide range of scientific and technological advances--ranging from the counting of optical cycles for next-generation atomic clocks to measurements of phase-sensitive high-field processes. A unique advantage of the stabilized frequency comb is that it provides, in a single laser beam, about a million optical modes with very narrow linewidths and absolute frequency positions known to better than one part in 10(15) (ref. 5). One important application of this vast array of highly coherent optical fields is precision spectroscopy, in which a large number of modes can be used to map internal atomic energy structure and dynamics. However, an efficient means of simultaneously identifying, addressing and measuring the amplitude or relative phase of individual modes has not existed. Here we use a high-resolution disperser to separate the individual modes of a stabilized frequency comb into a two-dimensional array in the image plane of the spectrometer. We illustrate the power of this technique for high-resolution spectral fingerprinting of molecular iodine vapour, acquiring in a few milliseconds absorption images covering over 6 THz of bandwidth with high frequency resolution. Our technique for direct and parallel accessing of stabilized frequency comb modes could find application in high-bandwidth spread-spectrum communications with increased security, high-resolution coherent quantum control, and arbitrary optical waveform synthesis with control at the optical radian level.     

掺镱光学频率梳噪声抑制与载波包络相位锁定

本文研究了泵浦源功率稳定性、环境温度和机械振动等因素对掺镱光纤光学频率梳自由运转下的载波包络偏移相位的影响,基于锁相环伺服反馈系统实现了光学频率梳的载波包络相位锁定.实验中采用重复频率为60 MHz的掺镱光纤飞秒激光器,经过两级功率放大、光谱展宽和f-2f拍频探测系统,获得了信噪比为25 dB的拍频信号.在此基础上,由伺服反馈系统对载波包络相位信号进行控制,锁定后的载波包络相位信号的频率抖动标准方差为283 mHz(计数时间为0.5 h).     

极真空紫外波段Al离子发射光谱的分析和模拟

利用两台Nd:YAG激光器作用于放置在真空腔室中的铝靶,获得了Al等离子体的发射光谱,并对23~35nm波段范围内的光谱进行了理论分析.结果表明实验光谱中的分立谱线主要来自于Al 5+-Al 8+离子的2s-2p跃迁;同时利用碰撞辐射稳态模型计算分析了不同电荷态Al离子的离子丰度随电子温度、电子密度的演化关系;最后结合激发态粒子数布局满足归一化玻尔兹曼分布的假设,获得了不同等离子体参数条件下的理论光谱,通过与实验光谱的比较,确定了等离子体参数.     

A laser frequency comb that enables radial velocity measurements with a precision of 1 cm s(-1)

Searches for extrasolar planets using the periodic Doppler shift of stellar spectral lines have recently achieved a precision of 60 cm s(-1) (ref. 1), which is sufficient to find a 5-Earth-mass planet in a Mercury-like orbit around a Sun-like star. To find a 1-Earth-mass planet in an Earth-like orbit, a precision of approximately 5 cm s(-1) is necessary. The combination of a laser frequency comb with a Fabry-Pérot filtering cavity has been suggested as a promising approach to achieve such Doppler shift resolution via improved spectrograph wavelength calibration, with recent encouraging results. Here we report the fabrication of such a filtered laser comb with up to 40-GHz (approximately 1-A) line spacing, generated from a 1-GHz repetition-rate source, without compromising long-term stability, reproducibility or spectral resolution. This wide-line-spacing comb, or 'astro-comb', is well matched to the resolving power of high-resolution astrophysical spectrographs. The astro-comb should allow a precision as high as 1 cm s(-1) in astronomical radial velocity measurements.     

Function of the mandibular tooth comb in living and extinct mammals

Among the most interesting mammalian dental specialization is the mandibular 'tooth comb' or 'tooth scraper' that evolved independently in certain primates and other mammals. Its occurrence is most widely known in lemurs and lorises, where it is comprised of the long, slender, procumbent incisors (one or two pairs) and incisiform canines (Fig. 1). In non-primates to canines are not incorporated into the comb. Some tree shrews (Tupaiidae) possess a tooth comb consisting of the four central incisors, and some early Tertiary arctocyonid condylarths had a similar structure composed of all six lower incisors. The extant flying lemurs (Dermoptera: Cynocephalus) also have a dental 'comb' but it is very different from the ones already mentioned, consisting of two pairs of pectinate incisors, each tooth modified into a comb with as many as 15 tines. This condition, although sometimes said to be similar to that in lemurs, is unique to Cynocephalus. One of the principal functions of the tooth comb in primates is to comb the fur, and we present here indirect evidence that condylarths used this structure in the same way, millions of years before tooth combs evolved in prosimians. We also show that the comb-like incisors of Cynocephalus, contrary to popular belief, probably do not function to comb the fur.     

Life in extreme environments

Each recent report of liquid water existing elsewhere in the Solar System has reverberated through the international press and excited the imagination of humankind. Why? Because in the past few decades we have come to realize that where there is liquid water on Earth, virtually no matter what the physical conditions, there is life. What we previously thought of as insurmountable physical and chemical barriers to life, we now see as yet another niche harbouring 'extremophiles'. This realization, coupled with new data on the survival of microbes in the space environment and modelling of the potential for transfer of life between celestial bodies, suggests that life could be more common than previously thought. Here we examine critically what it means to be an extremophile, and the implications of this for evolution, biotechnology and especially the search for life in the Universe.     

一种基于极限学习机的推力分配方法

针对传统迭代推力分配方法实时性较差的问题,提出了一种基于极限学习机(ELM)的推力分配方法.该方法考虑了推进器的布局条件与推进器推力约束,利用序列二次规划(SQP)算法在短时间内生成了大量用于极限学习机神经网络训练的推力分配样本数据.利用生成的数据集进行了离线训练,并进行了在线测试.仿真结果表明:该方法可以较高的精度和...     

云南地区太阳紫外直接辐射的计算

文章通过对有关资料的分析,选取了一种对紫外直接辐射的比较合理的气候学计算方法^[1]。再结合云南四个地区－昆明、腾冲、河口、景洪的逐年各月总太阳辐射量和散射辐射量实测记录值,分别计算了它们水平面上紫外直接辐射量的定时月平均值,再按梯形法计算出月平均日总量。     

基于极值理论的洪水灾害损失模型研究

巨灾风险具有发生概率低、毁灭性强等特点,其分布的极值与以往的经验分布不同,具有典型的厚尾特征．运用基于GPD分布的POT模型对我国历年洪水的损失数据进行拟合,并对形状参数及尺度参数进行估计,以此研究巨灾损失的尾部特征,得出结论,并提出建议,对巨灾债券产品的设计和定价具有重要的意义．     

一种频域电磁探测发射机的研究与设计

电磁探测设备是国内外研究的热点.本文通过分析频域电磁探测发射机的拓扑结构,设计了具有上升、下降沿均钳位,且输出电流阶段连接恒流源的发射电路,以及钳位电压源电容、恒流电感值,并建立了系统模型.仿真结果表明,该频域电磁探测发射机能在感性负载较大、发射频率较高的情况下,输出电流幅值大且为常规桥式发射电路3倍,具有交流方波稳定、线性度良好等优点.     

混合梳子模型中反铁磁阻挫引起的量子相变

利用严格对角化和密度矩阵重整化群方法研究近邻作用为铁磁耦合、对角的次近邻自旋为反铁磁耦合的两条链的混合梳子S=1/2海森堡模型,计算了该系统的基态能和基态总自旋.结果表明:当阻挫α≤0.25时,系统基态是单纯的铁磁态;随着阻挫的增强,系统基态经历一段总自旋S≠0的倾斜相,再转变到S=0的反铁磁态;与其不同的是,在混合梯子模型中,基态从单纯的铁磁态直接转变成S=0的反铁磁态.     

基于CPLD半整数分频器的设计

本设计是应用CPLD器件的特点和应用范围,利用VHDL硬件描述语言以及原理图的输入方式设计出占空比可调的半整数分频器,从而满足根据更改N值来实现不同分频系数分频器的设计要求.     

基于CPLD半整数分频器的设计

本设计是应用CPLD器件的特点和应用范围,利用VHDL硬件描述语言以及原理图的输入方式设计出占空比可调的半整数分频器,从而满足根据更改N值来实现不同分频系数分频器的设计要求。     

基于频度的概念漂移中低频概念的消减

由于数据流中概念漂移现象的影响,使得传统的分类方法不再适用,因此研究快速、精确及稳定的数据流挖掘方法和系统具有较高的理论和应用价值;文章研究了基于频度的概念漂移中低频概念对分类时空性能的影响,提出了对其中的低频概念进行消减的算法,实验表明LFCR算法比RePro算法有更好的分类性能。