Optical frequency combs enable the simultaneous acquisition of
spectral and temporal information from a spectroscopic measurement.
This can be highly useful in providing a deep understanding of complex
phenomena where complete information can be indispensable. I will
provide a few examples in which we have used a mode-locked laser comb to
allow measurements of molecular and atomic gases to obtain quantitive
measurements of their properties, or use it an accurate sensor of some
other property of interest (temperature, magnetic field). We have also
build combs based on electro-optical modulation of continuous-wave
lasers and used heterodyne detection to measure the complex
transmittance in atomic gases that are evolving in time. This allows us
to see the complex dynamics of saturation spectroscopy and precession
in magnetic fields of Rb gas. If I have time I will also give you a
little insight into our recent work on guidance of laser-cooled Rb into
hollow-core optical fibres.
BIOGRAPHY: Andre is Director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) and Chair of Experimental Physics at the University of Adelaide. The institute consists of an inter-disciplinary team of 220 personnel that aims at using new sensing paradigms to deliver solutions for industry, health and defence. As head of IPAS, Andre has driven an increase in industry engagement and commercialisation - more than 40% of the income is now derived from industry-connected grants, while 3 of the institute’s spin-outs in the last 18 months have had sales or attracted multi-million dollar investment. Andre’s own research work aims at developing state-of-the-art instruments across many diverse fields of physics. Over his career he has authored over 110 journal papers, raised over $20M for research, and supervised 15 graduate students - two of whom won Fulbright and Rhodes scholarships. Andre is also the co-founder of a company, Cryoclock Pty Ltd, that has commercialized his research into high performance oscillators.