High-power, low-noise Cr:ZnS comb source for spectroscopy and sensing

We developed a high-power (3 W), few cycle (<20 fs), fully referenced (timing jitter < 0.1 fs) optical frequency comb source at the central wavelength 2.4 µm. The comb is based on the ultrafast polycrystalline Cr:ZnS laser platform. The comb features a unique combination of few-cycle pulses, multi-Watt power with ultra-low intensity noise (<0.1% RMS). The comb’s servo system allows for robust phase-locking to any standard narrowband reference laser with the timing jitter <0.1 fs. Using readily available nonlinear crystals, the comb can be up and down-converted to any part of the electromagnetic spectrum from the THz to PHz. High performance of the source is confirmed by the demonstrations of dual comb spectroscopy resolving millions of comb modes in the IR and UV regimes.