Subnanosecond, time-resolved, broadband infrared spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation

A facility for subnanosecond time-resolved (pump-probe) infrared spectroscopy has been developed at the National Synchrotron Light Source of Brookhaven National Laboratory. A mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser produces 2 ps duration, tunable near-infrared pump pulses synchronized to probe pulses from a synchrotron storage ring. The facility is unique on account of the broadband infrared from the synchrotron, which allows the entire spectral range from 2 cm(-1) (0.25 meV) to 20 000 cm(-1) (2.5 eV) to be probed. A temporal resolution of 100 ps, limited by the infrared synchrotron-pulse duration (full width at half maximum), is achievable. A maximum time delay of 170 ns is available without gating the infrared detector. To illustrate the performance of the facility, a measurement of electron-hole recombination dynamics for an HgCdTe semiconductor film in the far- and mid-infrared range is presented. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.