Decade-Spanning High-Precision Terahertz Frequency Comb

The generation and detection of a decade-spanning terahertz (THz) frequency comb is reported using two Ti:sapphire femtosecond laser oscillators and asynchronous optical sampling THz time-domain spectroscopy. The comb extends from 0.15 to 2.4 THz, with a tooth spacing of 80 MHz, a linewidth of 3.7 kHz, and a fractional precision of 1.8 x 10(-9). With time-domain detection of the comb, we measure three transitions of water vapor at 10 mTorr between 1-2 THz with an average Doppler-limited fractional accuracy of 6.1 x 10(-8). Significant improvements in bandwidth, resolution, and sensitivity are possible with existing technologies.