Ultrafast 2D IR microscopy

We describe a microscope for measuring two-dimensional infrared (2D IR) spectra of heterogeneous samples with mu m-scale spatial resolution, sub-picosecond time resolution, and the molecular structure information of 2D IR, enabling the measurement of vibrational dynamics through correlations in frequency, time, and space. The setup is based on a fully collinear one beam geometry in which all pulses propagate along the same optics. Polarization, chopping, and phase cycling are used to isolate the 2D IR signals of interest. In addition, we demonstrate the use of vibrational lifetime as a contrast agent for imaging microscopic variations in molecular environments. (C)2014 Optical Society of America