Improving Phase Measurement Procedures for Pump-Probe Experiments

Pump-probe experiments use a visible laser to excite an atom or molecule, while an X-ray pulse measures its shape. The phases and pulse times of each beam are used to calculate the object's positing at a given time - a moving picture of the chemical reaction. Currently, the fastest X-ray pulses can travel a time-length of five femtoseconds. However, present-day phase measurements can only be done as quickly as 50 femtoseconds. The purpose of this research is to explore ways in which phase-timing measurements can be improved. Three experiments are undergone to find the key factors in phase-timing. Different frequency mixers, the radio frequency (RF) components used for phase measurement, are tested for the highest sensitivity. These same mixers are then tested using two different power splitters for the lowest noise-to-sensitivity ratio. Lastly, the temperature dependency of phase is explored by testing each component at a range of temperatures to see how the phase is affected. This research demonstrated that certain mixers were more sensitive than others; on average, one mixer performed the best with a sensitivity of 0.0230 V/ps. The results also showed that same mixer combined with one splitter gave the best noise-to-sensitivity ratio overall with an average of 6.95E-04 fs/{radical}(Hz). All the components tested exhibited a temperature-dependent phase change (ranging from 1.69 to 81.6 fs/{sup o}C); the same mixer that performed at the highest sensitivity with the least noise had a significantly greater phase change than the other two. In conclusion, the experiments showed that a temperature-controlled environment is most appropriate for phase measurement. They also demonstrated that mixers are not significantly noisy and that certain types of mixers may perform better than others, which could be accounted for in their construction. The results of this research encourage further investigation into the study of different mixers and other RF components used in pump-probe experiments