PicoEmerald for CARS and SRS

The easy-to-use and truly hands-free tunable picosecond light source. Ideal for SRS and CARS, offering three temporally and spatially overlapped picosecond pulse trains to cover the full fingerprint region and beyond.

Features

• Pulsed
• Wavelength 700 to 1950nm
• Power 0 to 700mW
• Repetition rate 80MHz
• Pulsewidth 2ps
• Tunable

Datasheet

• picoEmerald Datasheet
• picoEmerald Reference List
• Multimodal and Nonlinear Microscopy Poster
• picoEmerald Application Note (Nonlinear Microscopy)
• picoEmerald Application Note (Transient Absorption Microscopy)
• picoEmerald Application Note (Quantum Dot Single Photon Generation)
• SRS Detection Set Datasheet

Product Description

In a single-box, picoEmerald provides fully automated temporal- and spatial-overlapping ultra-short pulse trains: 1032nm from the laser oscillator, plus the optical parametric oscillator (OPO) signal beam, and OPO idler beam.

Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy and coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) have migrated from physics labs to life-science labs, so APE has responded with an easy-to-use and truly hands-off SRS and CARS light source: picoEmerald.

It comprises a high power (10W) picosecond oscillator, a frequency doubling to 532nm and a synchronously pumped OPO in a single box. The optics modules were optimized by finite element analyses and mechanical stability algorithms (misalignment stability optimization) to exhibit maximum passive stability. In addition an active cavity control is maximizing continuously the efficiency of the pump laser and the OPO.

Independent power adjustments of the 1064nm beam and the OPO signal and idler, sensors for the spatial and temporal overlap and a high resolution spectrometer are included. 1064nm pulses and OPO idler pulses can be independently combined with the OPO signal or blocked.

Vibrational excitation modes have a typical bandwidth of ~10cm-1 thus requiring picosecond excitation pulses for best spectroscopic resolution. This system delivers 7ps at 1064 and 5 - 6ps from the OPO to match this requirement. Optionally an amplitude modulation of the 1064nm beam up to 10MHz is available to suppress the non resonant background by SRS or heterodyne CARS microscopy.

Now the picoEmerald has shorter (2ps) pulses and <10cm-1 linewidth. With three-times shorter pulses than Nd:YVO-pumped OPOs and five-times higher signal and signal to noise ratio in SRS imaging (including video rate).

Testimonial
"In our search for a robust, fully automated tunable light source optimal for coherent Raman microscopy, the APE picoEmerald clearly stood out. It has proven to be reliable with its ease of use and system integration capabilities essential for supporting access to a wide range of users in our facility." - Dr Alastair Wark, Technology and Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde

• Fully remote controlled and hands-free
• Three-colour output (signal, idler, 1064nm)
• Perfect pulse synchronisation in space and time
• Constant power control
• Picosecond pulses for spectral resolution
• Entire coverage from 720cm-1 to 9000cm-1
• Ideal for non-laser experts

Applications

This product could be used for the following applications:

• Stimulated Raman spectroscopy (SRS)
• Coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS)
• SRS microscopy of vibrational probes
• Second harmonics imaging (SHG)
• Pump-probe spectroscopy
• Surface enhanced hyper Raman spectroscopy (SEHRS)

Manufacturer

This product is manufactured by APE GmbH.