Spectral super-resolution spectroscopy using a random laser

Year: 2020

Authors: Boschetti A., Taschin A., Bartolini P., Tiwari A.K., Pattelli L., Torre R., Wiersma D.S.

Autors Affiliation: Univ Firenze, European Lab Nonlinear Spect, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy; Centro Ric Frascati, ENEA, Frascati, Italy; Indian Inst Technol Kanpur, Dept Phys, Kanpur, India; Ist Nazl Ric Metrolog, INRIM, Turin, Italy; Univ Firenze, Dipartimento Fis Astronomia, Sesto Fiorentino, Italy.

Abstract: Spectral super-resolution spectroscopy is realized by exploiting a random laser that chaotically produces sharply spiked spectral lines, representing a new generation of simple, compact and cost-effective spectroscopy tools. Super-resolution microscopy refers to a powerful set of imaging techniques that overcome the diffraction limit. Some of these techniques, the importance of which was recognized by the 2014 Nobel Prize for chemistry, are based on the concept of image reconstruction by spatially sparse sampling. Here, we introduce the concept of super-resolution spectroscopy based on sparse sampling in the frequency domain, and show that this can be naturally achieved using a random laser source. In its chaotic regime, the emission spectrum of a random laser features sharp spikes at uncorrelated frequencies that are sparsely distributed over the emission bandwidth. These narrow lasing modes probe stochastically the spectral response of a sample, allowing it to be reconstructed with a resolution exceeding that of the spectrometer. We envision that the proposed technique will inspire a new generation of simple, cheap, high-resolution spectroscopy tools with a reduced footprint.

Journal/Review: NATURE PHOTONICS

Volume: 14 (3)      Pages from: 177  to: +

More Information: We thank S. Caporali for his assistance with sputter deposition of the FP mirrors and L. Mariani for advice on the optical fibre elements. We thank M. De Pas, A. Montori and M. Giuntini for their assistance with the set-up of the electronics and R. Ballerini and A. Hajeb for the realizations of the mechanical elements. This research was funded by Ente Cassa di Risparmio Firenze (grant 2016-0866), Ministero dell’Istruzione dell’Università e della Ricerca Italiano (grant PRIN2017-2017Z55KCW), European Community by Laserlab-Europe (grant H2020 EC-GA-654148) and PATHOS (grant H2020 FET-OPEN-828946).
KeyWords: Stimulated-emission; Reconstruction; Microscopy; Breaking; Limit
DOI: 10.1038/s41566-019-0558-4

Citations: 67
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