Del Mar Photonics - Hatteras brochure - Request a quote - Custom Femtosecond Transient Absorption Data Acquisition Systems

Femtosecond Transient Absorption Measurements system Hatteras Femtosecond Transient Absorption Measurements system Hatteras.
Future nanostructures and biological nanosystems will take advantage not only of the small dimensions of the objects but of the specific way of interaction between nano-objects. The interactions of building blocks within these nanosystems will be studied and optimized on the femtosecond time scale - says Sergey Egorov, President and CEO of Del Mar Photonics, Inc. Thus we put a lot of our efforts and resources into the development of new Ultrafast Dynamics Tools such as our Femtosecond Transient Absorption Measurements system Hatteras. Whether you want to create a new photovoltaic system that will efficiently convert photon energy in charge separation, or build a molecular complex that will dump photon energy into local heat to kill cancer cells, or create a new fluorescent probe for FRET microscopy, understanding of internal dynamics on femtosecond time scale is utterly important and requires advanced measurement techniques.

 

 

Below is a recent correspondence with prospective customer regarding using Hatteras ultrafast transient absorption system. The customer name is withheld.

Questions:

I contacted you recently enquiring about the Cannon broadband white light generation. After Discussing it within our group and checking the products offered by Del Mar Photonics, we have decided to take a different approach and buy an entire ultrafast transient absorption set up from you like the Hatteras.
Let me start by describing our laser system, that we would use to pump the Hatteras. We have a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser (Mira, Coherent) and an amplifier (Legend, Coherent) that can deliver 25mJ 1KHz 40fs 800nm pulses. We also have 2 OPA systems that are pumped by this laser (Opera and Topas, Coherent) that allow us to go with both pump and probe from 600 to 2500 nm. For the kind of samples we are measuring we are mainly interested in the 900-2500nm region.
What we would like to have from your company is a system like Hatteras that would cover as much of that range as possible using broad-band white light generation and diode array detection. This way we don't need to tune our OPA for each point in the spectra.
For the Hatteras would mean:
- Extended range for WL generation. Changing the sapphire plate for something else, like the technology used in the Cannon, or different pump wavelengths (we can choose with our OPA) on a different material (like the utra-broad spectrum shown by A. Saliminia et Al. Optics Express Vol. 13 No. 15 pg. 5731)
- Possibility for switching between white light or OPA for the wavelengths not covered my the spectrum ( I think this is already standard in the system)
- Extended IR range for the detectors, using for example two-stage cooled diodes and diode arrays from Hamamatsu (g9207 or g9208).

These are just the first ideas. We do like the Hatteras system because it has what we have already plus some additions we are introducing in our system in a compact design. But we find it a bit limiting in the wavelength range it can handle.
Let me know your thoughts, I'm sure that together we can design a pretty unique system (that would be also very interesting product for other groups in the molecular electronics and nanoparticle world). Besides, we are building a fs electron accelerator to be used also for pump-probe experiments; if this first system is satisfactory we would buy a second one one to be used with the accelerator (which should be pulsing this summer).
 

I Checked already the information in the link you sent before, but I could not find there details about the white light generation system. We do have already a working set-up covering 300-2500nm using OPA's. Our main interest now is, due to the long time needed for data collection wavelength by wavelength, to cover as much as possible of that range with a broadband source and detection. Therefore our main question is, how far you think you can go into the IR with the white light?

 

Answers:

Thank you for your further interest in Hatteras. Standard Hatteras configuration contains two multichannel array detector heads: visible detector head covers continuum up to 1000 nm, and InGaAs detector head covers spectral range from 900 nm to 1700 nm. We use detectors at room temperature. Cooled InGaAs arrays have the same sensitivity as at room temperature, and they are used only for very weak signals with very long accumulation time (1 s or more). At 1 kHz Hatteras can accumulate up to 100 pulses before readout (0.1 s). It is usually enough to detect continuum although we should check sensitivity around 1700 nm. Longer accumulation leads to very long time for data collection. We also checked other possibility. We tuned OPerA to 1420 nm, but the spectrum was broad enough. We used it for probe within 1400 – 1500 nm and multichannel detection. I guess the spectrum should be even broader at longer wavelengths and may be you don’t need in continuum generation with OPA although I am thinking about that possibility too.


 

Del Mar Photonics - Hatteras brochure - Hatteras Advantages - Eric Wei-Guang Diau publication

 

Figure 1. Optical layout of the femtosecond transient absorption spectrometer. M1-M5, gold or aluminum mirrors; BS1 and BS2, beam splitters;
Wedge, wedge prism; B1, Berek compensator; WP, half-wave plate; Pl, polarizer; L1 and L2, lens; AC1-AC4, achromatic lens; FC1 and FC2,
optical fiber couplers; PD, photodiode; R, retro-reflector. For single wavelength measurements, the white-light (WL) cell was removed, and both
FC1 and FC2 were replaced with two photodiodes.

 

More Hatteras customers:

1. National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan (Prof. Pi-Tai Chou)
2. National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan (Prof. I-Chia Chen)
3. Toyota CRDL Inc., Aishi, Japan
4. Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
5. Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
6. International Laser Center, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
7. Institute of Physical Biology, Nove Hrady, Czech Republic
8. Institute of Spectroscopy, Troitsk, Russian Federation
9. Nanoparticle Manufacturing Laboratory, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK - Yasir Khan  Technician y.khan@leeds.ac.uk 
10. University of Joensuu, Joensuu, Finland
11. Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain
12. School of Chemistry, North-West University, South Africa - Christien A Strydom

E-mail us to receive complete contact details of our Hatteras customers

Hatteras Specifications (pdf):

Hatteras femtosecond transient absorption pump-probe system:

Input requirements: > 0.5 mJ at 800 nm, < 100 fs, 1 kHz

1. All optics and mechanics for pump – probe measurements, assembled on a breadboard with cover box: femtosecond white light (continuum) generator for probe and reference pulse formation at 400 – 1600 nm; 2.0 -ns optical delay line; transmission and reflection configurations; optics for fluorescence anisotropy measurements; rotating sample cell assembly; holder for solid samples and thin films; set of selected color and neutral density filters.
2. Multi channel detector head, with two 1024-pixels extra-deep well NMOS linear image sensors, 200 -1000 nm spectral response (10% of peak), > 5800 dynamic range, up to 1 kHz readout rep. rate
3. Hatteras 2022i imaging spectrometer, adapted to the detector head and connected to a computer via serial port:
4. Photodiode for the system synchronization
5. Photodiode for pump power measurements
6. Synchronized chopper
7. Hatteras 3.0 data acquisition, chirp correction, 3D and kinetic analysis software

Infrared multichannel detector head (option), with two 256-pixels InGaAs linear image sensors, 100 -1700 nm spectral response (10% of peak), > 5800 dynamic range, up to 1 kHz readout rep. rate

Standard Hatteras quote based on US Domestic list price. Add 10% for International quotes. E-mail us for a custom quote

Main advantages of Hatteras pump-probe (transient absorption) spectrometer:



1. We use pump-probe configuration, where two signals (probe and reference) are measured by two linear image sensors. This configuration is very important for precision optical density changes (ΔOD) measurements, because one can get results independent on probe beam fluctuations. Calculation of probe to reference ratio is the key principle of the pump - probe method. To our knowledge, probe beam only without reference one is used by other pump-probe systems, and device sensitivity in this case is seriously limited by probe beam stability.

2. Two linear image sensors of Hatteras are placed in the focal plane of high quality imaging spectrometer with four-grating turret to provide automatic grating switching. Two standard gratings are installed to cover 330 nm – 1700 nm spectral range with 206 nm detection range. A central wavelength of the detection range is computer controlled. Two other gratings are available optionally on the customer’s choice and request. To our knowledge, simple spectrometer, configured for one fixed spectral range and equipped with one sensor, is used by other pump-probe systems. We use spectrometer specially designed for pump-probe measurements.

3. Hatteras CDP2022C imaging spectrometer has two outputs. Multichannel detector head is mounted on the first one, and the second one is for optional single channel detector head, containing two (probe and reference) photodiodes. This single channel option is important for high quality transient absorption kinetics measurements at given wavelength. Because of larger photo detector area and larger detector dynamic range, single channel system usually gives better ΔOD sensitivity than multichannel one (both systems use probe and reference beams). Other pump-probe systems do not offer this option.

4. We offer:
• Si multi channel head (200 nm – 1000 nm),
• InGaAs multi channel head (900 nm – 1700 nm),
• Si single channel detector head (320 nm – 1060 nm, 190 nm – 1100 nm on request)
• InGaAs single channel head (900 nm – 1700 nm, 900 - 2000 nm on request)
• CdHgTe (1 m - 17 m) single channel head
Hatteras is a modular system. If you order visible multi channel head as a basic one, in future you can order other heads and connect to your control unit. One multi channel and two single channel heads can be connected to the control unit simultaneously.
Other pump-probe systems do not offer these possibilities.

5. Hatteras-T kit of optical and mechanical components is flexible to satisfy user’s requirements. For example, a configuration with two single channel heads is used for single scan anisotropy kinetic measurements (both kinetics are recorded simultaneously for parallel and perpendicular polarization). To our knowledge, other pump-probe spectrometers do not realize many configurations available in Hatteras.

6. Hatteras configurations give possibilities to direct probe and reference beams to the entrance slit of the monochromator fiber coupling or directly (free-space). First method is simpler. Second method requires more precise adjustments, but gives better S/N, especially in UV region. To our knowledge, fiber coupling only is used by other pump-probe systems.

7. Hatteras offer many sample holder options including specially designed rotation cell. It gives a possibility of “pseudo single-shot experiment”, when every pulse at 1 kHz hits a fresh sample. To our knowledge, only single sample holder such as shaking sample cell only is used by other pump-probe systems. It is simplest solution and we used that approach 20 years ago…

8. Linear image sensors with 1024 pixels (sensitive at 200 nm – 1000 nm) are used in the Hatteras. To our knowledge, other pump-probe systems use sensor with 512 pixels.

9. Extra-deep well photodiode linear image sensors are used in the Hatteras. These sensors were specially designed for photometric applications like transient absorption pump-probe experiments where very small signal changes should be detected. CCD detectors used in other pump-probe systems are not photometric devices and give less S/N.

10. 2. 0 ns delay line with 0.78125 min step is used in the Hatteras. 1.6 ns delay line with 3.5 fs min step is used in other pump-probe systems.

11. Pump pulse energy is measured for every pulse (special photodiode is used for this purpose). Pump pulse margins or normalization can be applied for further S/N improvement.

12. CDP2017 frequency conversion option (optical parametric amplifier with frequency mixing and second harmonic) was specially designed to make pump beam easy tunable in 480 nm – 800 nm spectral range. Although one can use other optical parametric amplifiers, CDP 2017 gives cheaper solution and better matching with Hatteras.

13. Alternatively, TOPAS from Light Conversion (Lithuania) or OPerA Solo from Coherent is recommended as a computer controlled OPA operated with Hatteras ExciPro software.

14. Our data sheet demonstrates well resolved transient absorption peak of 0.0003 OD and corresponding noise is less than 0.0001 RMS. Although other pump-probe systems claim 0.0002 OD noise, all available data sheets show one and the same spectrum where scale for the optical changes is not shown.

15. Hatteras ExciPro software makes user friendly data acquisition, chirp correction and some procedures for instant data analysis. On the other hand, obtained 3D spectra can be easy exported to various special data analysis software like Mathematica, Origin, Femtoscan, or Surface Xplorer. E-mail us to discuss custom software package.

16. Hatteras optical unit together with the spectrometer is more compact than other pump-probe systems optical unit, although we use probe – reference scheme, rotating sample cell, Berek’s wave plate assembly and other components which are not used in other systems.

18. Hatteras has been designed by ultrafast dynamics veterans in 1999 – 2000 for precision measurements of small photo induced optical density changes (ΔOD) in wide spectral range. Using our own many years experience in pump-probe experiments, as well as experience of leading laboratories, all components were specially designed, selected, and tested to make state-of-the-art system with best specifications. Hatteras is first femtosecond transient absorption spectrometer on the market.



 

Del Mar Photonics


Standard Hatteras quote based on US Domestic list price. Add 10% for International quotes. E-mail us for a custom quote

 

 

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