Differential high-resolution stimulated CW Raman spectroscopy of hydrogen in a hollow-core fiber

We demonstrate sensitive high-resolution stimulated Raman measurements of hydrogen using a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber (HC-PCF). The Raman transition is pumped by a narrow linewidth (<50 kHz) 1064 nm continuous-wave (CW) fiber laser. The probe light is produced by a homebuilt CW optical parametric oscillator (OPO), tunable from around 800 nm to 1300 nm (linewidth similar to 5 MHz). These narrow linewidth lasers allow for an excellent spectral resolution of approximately 10(-4) cm(-1). The setup employs a differential measurement technique for noise rejection in the probe beam, which also eliminates background signals from the fiber. With the high sensitivity obtained, Raman signals were observed with only a few mW of optical power in both the pump and probe beams. This demonstration allows for high resolution Raman identification of molecules and quantification of Raman signal strengths. (C) 2015 Optical Society of America