Simplified approach to low-frequency coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy using a sharp spectral edge filter.

Abstract

Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) has found wide applications in biomedical research. Compared with alternatives, single-beam CARS is especially attractive at low frequencies. Yet, currently existing schemes necessitate a relatively complicated setup to perform high-resolution spectroscopy. Here we show that the spectral sharp edge formed by an ultra-steep long-pass filter is sufficient for performing CARS spectroscopy, simplifying the system significantly. We compare the sensitivity of the presented methodology with available counterparts both theoretically and experimentally. Importantly, we show that this method, to the best of our knowledge, is the simplest and most suitable for vibrational imaging and spectroscopy in the very low-frequency regime (<200 cm-1).