Wide wavelength range picosecond table-top SFG spectrometer

Summary form only given. Since the first demonstration by Y.R. Shen, vibrationally resolved sum frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy has become a powerful tool for investigation of molecules at surfaces and interfaces. In SFG studies, the pulsed visible laser beam is mixed at the interface with the tunable IR beam. The majority of SFG experiments have employed mid-IR lasers at wavelength below 5 /spl mu/m. At longer wavelength, especially over 10 /spl mu/m, it becomes more difficult to generate sufficient infrared intensity. We have developed the picosecond tabletop SFG spectrometer with a wide smooth tunability range of 2.3-10 /spl mu/m. For the sum frequency generation we use the second harmonic (532 nm) radiation of a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser.