Projects Overview

In 2005, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the art measuring the frequency of light by laser frequency combs. Today, one emerging application of such combs is broadband molecular spectroscopy. Our project shall investigate the potential of infrared comb spectroscopy for real time process analyzers, develop key components for compact instruments and demonstrate the feasibility in an industrial application. A key scientific issue will be the investigation of comb sources based on quadratic nonlinearities in microresonators to cover a broad spectral range in the mid-infrared. This joint effort combines the outstanding knowledge of the world’s leading group in comb spectroscopy at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics MPQ with the long-term experience of Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM in laser based process analyzers and with the expertise of the laboratory for Optical Systems in nonlinear optics.