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Title: Effects of phase and coupling between the vibrational modes on selective excitation in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy

Journal Article · · Physical Review. A
; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 (United States)

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy has been a major tool of investigation of biological structures as it contains the vibrational signature of molecules. A quantum control method based on chirped pulse adiabatic passage was recently proposed for selective excitation of a predetermined vibrational mode in CARS microscopy [Malinovskaya and Malinovsky, Opt. Lett. 32, 707 (2007)]. The method utilizes the chirp sign variation at the peak pulse amplitude and gives a robust adiabatic excitation of the desired vibrational mode. Using this method, we investigate the impact of coupling between vibrational modes in molecules on controllability of excitation of the CARS signal. We analyze two models of two coupled two-level systems (TLSs) having slightly different transitional frequencies. The first model, featuring degenerate ground states of the TLSs, gives robust adiabatic excitation and maximum coherence in the resonant TLS for positive value of the chirp. In the second model, implying nondegenerate ground states in the TLSs, a population distribution is observed in both TLSs, resulting in a lack of selectivity of excitation and low coherence. It is shown that the relative phase and coupling between the TLSs play an important role in optimizing coherence in the desired vibrational mode and suppressing unwanted transitions in CARS microscopy.

OSTI ID:
21437913
Journal Information:
Physical Review. A, Vol. 81, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevA.81.063404; (c) 2010 The American Physical Society; ISSN 1050-2947
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English