Allison Research Group

Want to build your own high-power Yb:fiber laser? Here’s how:  http://arxiv.org/abs/1606.05234

We have been awarded an early career grant from the Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences. A writeup by the University appears here: http://sb.cc.stonybrook.edu/news/general/2016-05-04-thomas-allison.php

Our first paper has now been published, and can be found here: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OPTICA.3.000311

Our first group member, Melanie Reber, has accepted an assistant professor position at University of Georgia in Athens, GA. There, she will start her own research group pursuing  ultrafast optical spectroscopy of gas-phase molecular systems. Congratulations to Melanie!

After a nearly three year period building unique instrumentation, our first paper is submitted. The paper is available on the arXiv pre-print server here:

http://arxiv.org/abs/1511.02973

We have recently added an enhancement cavity to the pump beam of our cavity-enhanced spectroscopy experiment, allowing us to excite the molecules about 100x more and realizing the full potential of CETAS.

After a long build, high harmonics are being generated. Without much optimization yet, we are recording about 40 nA of photocurrent from a stainless steel plate and the signal goes away upon insertion of a LiF window, meaning the photon energy is above 10 eV. The picture shows the plasma at the end of a glass nozzle at the intracavity focus. The harmonics are reflected off the sapphire wafer at Brewster’s angle into the pipe at the lower right of the picture, which goes towards the monochromator chamber.

We have now assembled the last part of the beamline connecting the surface science chamber to the HHG source. Pictures are graduate students Peng Zhao and Xinlong Li and postdoc Chris Corder.

Now, just add photons…. coming soon!

Today we installed the chamber for our time preserving monochromator. The beamline is taking form!

After a lengthy construction period, we are getting ready to make some high order harmonics! The turbo is spinning and the chamber is pumping!