Book Description
This grant is a DURIP funded project that provided a portion of the funds to construct a laboratory for studying the ultrafast dynamics of molecules in condensed phases. The heart of the experimental apparatus is a pulsed Ti:sapphire laser producing 100 fs pulses. The goal of the work was to establish the laboratory and characterize the laser pulses for use in the experimental studies. We have identified and brought to Madison two crucial components of this effort: a state of the art femtosecond laser system, and an experienced and able post-doctoral associate to make the experiments a reality. During the first several months of this grant, we identified the optimum system, a Tl:sapphire oscillator and regenerative amplifier system from Clark Instruments. We purchased the system, extensively remodelled a laboratory to accommodate it and installed it in August. We have completed the data acquisition system while characterizing the laser and optimizing its performance. We have built a frequency resolved optical gating system and measured the bandwidth and duration of the pulses from the Tl:sapphire laser. p2.