Biomedical subjects

Ronald Holzwarth

Publications and source records attributed to Ronald Holzwarth.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Frequency-comb-referenced two-wavelength source for absolute distance measurement.

We propose a new tunable laser source concept for multiple-wavelength interferometry, offering an unprecedented large choice of synthetic wavelengths with a relative uncertainty better than 10(-11) in vacuum. Two lasers are frequency stabilized over a wide range of frequency intervals defined by the frequency comb generated by a mode-locked fiber laser. In addition, we present experimental results demonstrating the generation of a 90 mum synthetic wavelength calibrated with an accuracy better than 0.2 parts in 10(6). With this synthetic wavelength we can resolve one optical wavelength, which opens the way to absolute distance measurement with nanometer accuracy.

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PubMed2005

A frequency comb in the extreme ultraviolet.

Since 1998, the interaction of precision spectroscopy and ultrafast laser science has led to several notable accomplishments. Femtosecond laser optical frequency 'combs' (evenly spaced spectral lines) have revolutionized the measurement of optical frequencies and enabled optical atomic clocks. The same comb techniques have been used to control the waveform of ultrafast laser pulses, which permitted the generation of single attosecond pulses, and have been used in a recently demonstrated 'oscilloscope' for light waves. Here we demonstrate intra-cavity high harmonic generation in the extreme ultraviolet, which promises to lead to another joint frontier of precision spectroscopy and ultrafast science. We have generated coherent extreme ultraviolet radiation at a repetition frequency of more than 100 MHz, a 1,000-fold improvement over previous experiments. At such a repetition rate, the mode spacing of the frequency comb, which is expected to survive the high harmonic generation process, is large enough for high resolution spectroscopy. Additionally, there may be many other applications of such a quasi-continuous compact and coherent extreme ultraviolet source, including extreme ultraviolet holography, microscopy, nanolithography and X-ray atomic clocks.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Time-domain mid-infrared frequency-comb spectrometer.

A novel type of Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR) is demonstrated. It is based on two Ti:sapphire lasers emitting femtosecond pulse trains with slightly different repetition frequencies. Two mid-infrared beams-derived from those lasers by rectification in GaSe-are superimposed upon a detector to produce purely time-domain interferograms that encode the infrared spectrum. The advantages of this spectrometer compared with the common FTIR include ease of operation (no moving parts), speed of acquisition (100 micros demonstrated), and not-yet-shown collimated long-distance propagation, diffraction-limited microscopic probing, and electronically controllable chemometric factoring. Extending time-domain frequency-comb spectroscopy to lower (terahertz) or higher (visible, ultraviolet) frequencies should be feasible.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Optical clockwork with an offset-free difference-frequency comb: accuracy of sum- and difference-frequency generation.

We demonstrate a simple optical clockwork mechanism based on the broadened frequency comb of a femtosecond laser and on difference-frequency generation (DFG) in a nonlinear crystal. The DFG comb possesses a vanishing carrier envelope offset frequency that permits the construction of a simple and thus potentially more stable optical clockwork. In addition it offers the possibility of extending the frequency comb into the infrared spectral region. The overall accuracy and stability of the DFG comb relative to the initial frequency comb were measured to be 6.6 x 10(-21) and 10(-18) tau(-1), respectively, where tau is the averaging time in seconds. Assuming that sum- and difference-frequency generation are independent processes, our measurements suggest a <10(-20) accuracy for them.

Journal Article↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Imaging ex vivo and in vitro brain morphology in animal models with ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography.

The feasibility of ultrahigh resolution optical coherence tomography (UHR OCT) to image ex vivo and in vitro brain tissue morphology on a scale from single neuron cells to a whole animal brain was investigated using a number of animal models. Sub-2-microm axial resolution OCT in biological tissue was achieved at different central wavelengths by separately interfacing two state-of-the-art broad bandwidth light sources (titanium:sapphire, Ti:Al2O3 laser, lambdac=800 nm, Deltalambda=260 nm, Pout=50 mW and a fiber laser light source, lambdac=1350 nm, Deltalambda=470 nm, Pout=4 mW) to free-space or fiber-based OCT systems, designed for optimal performance in the appropriate wavelength regions. The ability of sub-2-microm axial resolution OCT to visualize intracellular morphology was demonstrated by imaging living ganglion cells in cultures. The feasibility of UHR OCT to image the globular structure of an entire animal brain as well as to resolve fine morphological features at various depths in it was tested by imaging a fixed honeybee brain. Possible degradation of OCT axial resolution with depth in optically dense brain tissue was examined by depositing microspheres through the blood stream to various depths in the brain of a living rabbit. It was determined that in the 1100 to 1600-nm wavelength range, OCT axial resolution was well preserved, even at depths greater than 500 microm, and permitted distinct visualization of microspheres 15 microm in diameter. In addition, the OCT image penetration depth and the scattering properties of gray and white brain matter were evaluated in tissue samples from the visual cortex of a fixed monkey brain.

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