Optical spectroscopy is a powerful tool to investigate and unveil fundamental physical properties of atoms and molecules, with applications spanning the fields of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Using spectroscopic techniques, it is possible to study the chemical composition of a sample in a non-destructive way: thanks to the distinctive spectroscopic features of different atomic and molecular species, spectroscopy-based diagnostics enables concurrent determination of the concentration of multiple species within a single instrument. Time-resolved information can be retrieved, too, so that time-dependent phenomena can be studied.
Most spectroscopic techniques offer enhanced sensitivity upon increase of either the interaction length (e.g., for absorption spectroscopy) or of the light intensity used to probe the sample (e.g., for nonlinear spectroscopy such as Raman spectroscopy). Both results can be achieved using an optical cavity, where probe light is trapped in a finite volume, enormously increasing the effective interaction length that can exceed hundreds of kilometers. Thanks to constructive interference between the field recirculating inside the cavity and the probe beam injected into the cavity, the intracavity field can be similarly enhanced by a scale factor proportional to the cavity finesse.
The vast increase in the sensitivity of cavity-based spectrometers has led to a variety of sensing applications in different fields ranging from Biology and Medicine (e.g., breath analyzers, flow cytometers, …), Environmental Science (e.g., trace gas monitoring), Combustion Science and Fundamental Physics (e.g., high-resolution spectroscopy of simple molecules).
Recently, the field has grown considerably in many directions: developing new techniques to maximize the information obtained from absorption spectroscopy in macroscopic cavities, developing new field instruments based on cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy, demonstrating the ability of microcavities for single-molecule detection, applying enhancement cavities to high resolution nonlinear spectroscopy and moving towards ambient-temperature platforms for quantum information based on cavity quantum electrodynamics, to name a few.
This Research Topic aims to highlight recent advancements in linear and nonlinear spectroscopy through enhancement cavities, covering both new techniques and methods as well as significant results on physical, chemical, and biological systems. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:
• Cavity-enhanced spectrometers
• Trace gas detection for atmospheric sensing, breath analysis, combustion processes
• Chemical and biological applications of cavity-enhanced spectroscopy
• Single particle sensing
• Precision atomic and molecular spectroscopy
• Quantum and nonlinear optics in optical cavities
• Thermal and mechanical sensing
• Micro-cavities and whispering gallery mode resonators
• Ultra-stable cavities
• Micro-bubble cavities
• Multi-pass cell spectrometers
• Laser-cavity locking schemes
• Cavity-enhanced nonlinear spectroscopy
• Acoustic- or optical-cavity enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy
We welcome manuscripts in the form of Original Research, Brief Research Report, Review, Mini Review and Perspective Papers.
Optical spectroscopy is a powerful tool to investigate and unveil fundamental physical properties of atoms and molecules, with applications spanning the fields of Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Using spectroscopic techniques, it is possible to study the chemical composition of a sample in a non-destructive way: thanks to the distinctive spectroscopic features of different atomic and molecular species, spectroscopy-based diagnostics enables concurrent determination of the concentration of multiple species within a single instrument. Time-resolved information can be retrieved, too, so that time-dependent phenomena can be studied.
Most spectroscopic techniques offer enhanced sensitivity upon increase of either the interaction length (e.g., for absorption spectroscopy) or of the light intensity used to probe the sample (e.g., for nonlinear spectroscopy such as Raman spectroscopy). Both results can be achieved using an optical cavity, where probe light is trapped in a finite volume, enormously increasing the effective interaction length that can exceed hundreds of kilometers. Thanks to constructive interference between the field recirculating inside the cavity and the probe beam injected into the cavity, the intracavity field can be similarly enhanced by a scale factor proportional to the cavity finesse.
The vast increase in the sensitivity of cavity-based spectrometers has led to a variety of sensing applications in different fields ranging from Biology and Medicine (e.g., breath analyzers, flow cytometers, …), Environmental Science (e.g., trace gas monitoring), Combustion Science and Fundamental Physics (e.g., high-resolution spectroscopy of simple molecules).
Recently, the field has grown considerably in many directions: developing new techniques to maximize the information obtained from absorption spectroscopy in macroscopic cavities, developing new field instruments based on cavity-enhanced absorption spectroscopy, demonstrating the ability of microcavities for single-molecule detection, applying enhancement cavities to high resolution nonlinear spectroscopy and moving towards ambient-temperature platforms for quantum information based on cavity quantum electrodynamics, to name a few.
This Research Topic aims to highlight recent advancements in linear and nonlinear spectroscopy through enhancement cavities, covering both new techniques and methods as well as significant results on physical, chemical, and biological systems. Topics covered include, but are not limited to:
• Cavity-enhanced spectrometers
• Trace gas detection for atmospheric sensing, breath analysis, combustion processes
• Chemical and biological applications of cavity-enhanced spectroscopy
• Single particle sensing
• Precision atomic and molecular spectroscopy
• Quantum and nonlinear optics in optical cavities
• Thermal and mechanical sensing
• Micro-cavities and whispering gallery mode resonators
• Ultra-stable cavities
• Micro-bubble cavities
• Multi-pass cell spectrometers
• Laser-cavity locking schemes
• Cavity-enhanced nonlinear spectroscopy
• Acoustic- or optical-cavity enhanced photoacoustic spectroscopy
We welcome manuscripts in the form of Original Research, Brief Research Report, Review, Mini Review and Perspective Papers.
