Frequency Comb Interferometry
Nathalie Picqué
Max-Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short
Pulse Spectroscopy, Berlin, Germany
Max-Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, Garching, Germany
Abstract:
Optical frequency combs have revolutionized time and frequency
metrology by providing rulers in frequency space that measure large
optical frequency differences and/or straightforwardly link
microwave and optical frequencies. Such combs enable precision laser
spectroscopy, tests of fundamental physics and provide the
long-missing clockwork mechanism for optical clocks.
While frequency combs have become key to research areas such as
attosecond science, or calibration of astronomical spectrographs,
one of the most successful applications beyond their original
purpose has been dual-comb interferometry. An interferometer can be
formed using two frequency combs of slightly different line spacing.
Dual-comb interferometers without moving parts are fundamentally
different from any other type of interferometers: they perform
direct frequency measurements, without geometric limitations to
resolution. They outperform state-of-the-art devices in an
increasing number of fields including spectroscopy and
three-dimensional imaging, offering unique features such as
frequency measurements, accuracy, precision, speed. This talk will
provide a short introduction to optical frequency combs and will
survey dual-comb interferometry and its latest exciting
developments.
Short bio:
Nathalie Picqué is a Director at the Max-Born Institute for
Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (Berlin, Germany) and
a Professor of Physics at the Humboldt University of Berlin. She has
been previously a research group leader at the Max-Planck Institute
of Quantum Optics (Garching, Germany) and a tresearch scientist with
the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at Orsay
(France). She received her doctoral degree in Physics from
Université Paris-Saclay (France) in 1998. Her research interests are
in the areas of optics and molecular physics, more particularly in
interferometry, precision spectroscopy and laser technology. Her
research focuses on exploring new ideas that involve laser frequency
combs and on applying these novel concepts to metrology, molecular
spectroscopy, holography and chip-scale sensing. Nathalie Picqué has
received several awards, including the 2021 Gentner-Kastler Prize in
Physics, a 2021 European Research Council Advanced Grant, the 2022
Breakthrough in Physical Sciences of the Falling-Walls Foundation
and the 2023 Cécile DeWitt-Morette Prize of the French Academy of
Sciences.
Detailed cv at
https://www.frequency-comb.eu/doc/CV-Nathalie-Picque.pdf