Heterodyne

Figure Al.6,8 shows the experimental results of Scherer et al of excitation of I2 using pairs of phase locked pulses. By the use of heterodyne detection, those authors were able to measure just the mterference contribution to the total excited-state fluorescence (i.e. the difference in excited-state population from the two units of population which would be prepared if there were no interference). The basic qualitative dependence on time delay and phase is the same as that predicted by the hannonic model significant interference is observed only at multiples of the excited-state vibrational frequency, and the relative phase of the two pulses detennines whether that interference is constructive or destructive.

Figure Al.6.8. Wavepacket interferometry. The interference contribution to the exeited-state fluoreseenee of I2 as a fiinotion of the time delay between a pair of ultrashort pulses. The interferenee eontribution is isolated by heterodyne deteetion. Note that the stnieture in the interferogram oeeurs only at multiples of 300 fs, the exeited-state vibrational period of f. it is only at these times that the wavepaeket promoted by the first pulse is baek in the Franek-Condon region. For a phase shift of 0 between the pulses the returning wavepaeket and the newly promoted wavepaeket are in phase, leading to eonstnietive interferenee (upper traee), while for a phase shift of n the two wavepaekets are out of phase, and interfere destnietively (lower traee). Reprinted from Seherer N F et 0/1991 J. Chem. Phys. 95 1487.

The second way to achieve quadrahire is to introduce another field, E, (called a local oscillator) designed in frequency and wavevector to conjugate (go into quadrahire) in its complex representation with the new field of interest. Thus in the heterodyne case, the signal photons are derived fromcr. jy i. or Sj (lieterodyne) x x X... 

In heterodyne detected. s + 1 wave mixing, phase infonnation is retained and one can take a fidl measure of... 

A connnon teclmique used to enliance the signal-to-noise ratio for weak modes is to inject a local oscillator field polarized parallel to the RIKE field at the detector. This local oscillator field is derived from the probe laser and will add coherently to the RIKE field [96]. The relative phase of the local oscillator and the RIKE field is an important parameter in describing the optical heterodyne detected (OHD)-RIKES spectrum. If the local oscillator at the detector is in phase with the probe wave, the heterodyne mtensity is proportional to... 

Tokmakoff A, Lang M J, Larson D S and Fleming G R 1997 Intrinsic optical heterodyne detection of a two-dimensional fifth order Raman response Chem. Phys. Lett. 272 48-54... 

Constantine S, Zhou Y, Morals J and Ziegler L D 1997 Dispersed optical heterodyne birefringence and dichroism of transparent liquids J. Phys. Chem. A 101 5456-62... 

Figure Bl.4.2. (A) Basic components of an astronomical heterodyne receiver. The photomicrograph in (B) presents the heart of a quasi-optical SIS mixer and its associated superconducting timing circuits, while the image in (C) shows the fiilly assembled mixer, as it would be incorporated into a low-temperature cryostat (J Zmuidzinas, private conmumication).

A number of mixing experiments have therefore been used to generate both pulses and CW THz radiation. Among these, diode-based mixers used as upconvertors (that is, heterodyne spectroscopy m reverse ) have been the workliorse FIR instruments. Two such teclmiques have produced the bulk of the spectroscopic results ... 

For CW applieations of optieal-heterodyne eonversion, two laser fields are applied to the optoeleetronie material. The non-linear nature of the eleetro-optie effeet strongly suppresses eontimious emission relative to ultrashort pulse exeitation, and so most of the CW researeh earried out to date has used photoeonduetive anteimae. The CW mixing proeess is eharaeterized by the average drift veloeity t and earrier lifetime Xq of the mixing material, typieally... 

Figure Bl.4.7. Top THz generation by optieal-heterodyne eonversion in low-temperature GaAs. (a) The tluee DBR laser system that synthesizes a preeise differenee frequeney for the THz photomixer speetrometer, (b) the MOPA system and the set-up for speetroseopy. Bottom seeond-derivative absorption speetnim of the...

Brown E R, McIntosh K A, Smith F W, Manfra M J and Dennis C L 1993 Measurements of optical-heterodyne conversion in low-temperature grown GaAs Appl. Rhys. Lett. 62 1206-8... 

A quite readabie summary of heterodyne deteotion strategies. 

In optical domain, preamplifier is no more an utopia and is in actual use in fiber communication. However quantum physics prohibits the noiseless cloning of photons an amplifier must have a spectral density of noise greater than 1 photon/spatial mode (a "spatial mode" corresponds to a geometrical extent of A /4). Most likely, an optical heterodyne detector will be limited by the photon noise of the local oscillator and optical preamplifier will not increase the detectivity of the system. 

The main source of noise of such a heterodyne detector is the photon noise that takes place at the splitting of the local oscillator. Quantum physicists see this noise as originating from vacuum fluctuation on the input arm. This gives directly the spectral density of noise at input hv/2. 

A noise power equivalent to one photon generates an interference signal which has an amplitude equals to twice the rms photon noise of the source. But as only the in-phase components of the source generates an interference with the local oscillator, the result is that the spectral Noise Equivalent Power of the heterodyne receiver is hv. 

Finally, although heterodyne receiver is basically an amplitude-phase detector, its detectivity as a power receiver is similar to a quantum limited detector ... 

Since a heterodyne receiver is an amplitude and phase detector, it could nicely be used to correlate optical signals received at various remote sites. The local oscillator can be a single laser distributed by optical fiber to the various sites or local lasers that can be synchronized "a posteriori" by reference to a common source (e.g. a bright star). 

Heterodyne is a very efficient tool for detecting the phase of a "coherent" signal i.e. a signal which has a stable phase relation to the local oscillator. The detector is only limited by the quantum fluctuation of vacuum. This property is common use in coherent lidar. Satellite to satellite optical communications using laser as a local oscillator are under development (Fig. 3). 

Figure 3. Detection of thermal source through multiple point heterodyne...

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