Hannover 2013 – scientific programme
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MO: Fachverband Molekülphysik
MO 19: Poster 2: Biomolecules, Cold Molecules, Experimental Techniques, Various Topics
MO 19.12: Poster
Wednesday, March 20, 2013, 16:00–18:30, Empore Lichthof
High-intracavity-power lasers for molecule alignment — •Bastian Deppe1,2, Kolja Beil1, Christian Kränkel1,2, Günter Huber1,2, and Jochen Küpper1,2,3 — 1Department of Physics, University of Hamburg — 2Center for Ultrafast Imaging, University of Hamburg — 3Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, Hamburg
State-of-the-art of laser-induced strong alignment of molecules is routinely performed using pulses from injection seeded Nd:YAG lasers at some 10 Hz repetition rate. Recently, chirped pulses from Ti:Sapphire lasers have extended the range to 1 kHz (poster by Trippel et al). The high peak powers of theses pulses allow easily for focal peak intensities on the order of 1010–1012 W/cm2, which are applied for the adiabatic alignment of molecules due to the strong electromagnetic field of the intense light. However, the necessary high pulse energies require amplification stages with low or medium repetition rates, which are not sufficient for novel ”diffraction” experiments at modern light sources, such as HHG laser setups, synchrotrons, or free-electron lasers. We utilize the high intracavity power of a thin-disk laser in vacuum environment to align the molecules in a continuous beam. For this intention several Ytterbium doped gain media, like Yb:YAG or Yb:Lu2O3 will be tested. In experiments targeting for optimum laser output power an Yb:Lu2O3 thin-disk laser already reached several 10 kW of intracavity power at an output power of 300 W. By increasing the finesse of such a resonator by a factor of ten, such a setup will provide intracavity intensities in excess of 1010 W/cm2 over a 25 µm focal spot size which allows for continuous wave adiabatic alignment of molecules.