Development of a High-Sensitivity Pump-Probe Fast Scanning Delay Line Stephanie Majewski University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign University of Florida Faculty Mentor: Professor David Reitze
Introduction Femtosecond “LASER”s Pump-Probe Spectroscopy Lock-in Method Fast-Scan System
Femtosecond Lasers 1 fs = 0.000 000 000 000 001 s
What Happens in 100 Femtoseconds? Light Travels 30 μm Electrons Collide With Electrons Solids Begin to Melt Under Laser Irradiation Chemicals Dissociate There are about as many femtoseconds in a minute as there are minutes in the age of the universe.
Project Objectives Characterize Motion of Shaker Design Mirror Mount Optimize Performance of Shaker- Mount System Implement System in Pump-Probe Experiment
The “Shaker”
Mirror Mount
Obstacles ... Elliptical Beam Shape Unstable Mirror Mount Wobble in Drive Arm of Shaker
Solutions! Uniform Bolt Force on Mirror Yielded Circular Beam Shape, Mirror Rattle Minimized Extra Screw Added Stability to Mount Beam Jitter Corrected Optically
Time-Resolved Nanotube Transmission Measurement Achieved successful fast-scan system implementation in pump-probe experiment Measurement itself unsuccessful due to intrinsic scattering of sample In future, can try using cross-polarization and other methods to reduce scattering.
Conclusion Developed Shaker Design for Fast Scanning System Characterized Shaker Motion and Corrected Beam Jitter to Within Acceptable Limits Implemented Shaker in Time-Resolved Carbon Nanotube Transmission Measurement
Acknowledgements Professor David Reitze Mark Moores and Anatoly Efimov Drs. Kevin Ingersent and Alan Dorsey NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates