Pressure measurements using hybrid femtosecond/picosecond rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering

We investigate the feasibility of gas-phase pressure measurements using fs/ps rotational CARS. Femtosecond pump and Stokes pulses impulsively prepare a rotational Raman coherence, which is probed by a high-energy 5-ps pulse introduced at a time delay from the Raman preparation. These ultrafast laser pulses are shorter than collisional-dephasing time scales, enabling a new hybrid time- and frequency-domain detection scheme for pressure. Single-laser-shot rotational CARS spectra were recorded from N2 contained in a room-temperature gas cell for pressures from 0.4 to 3 atm and probe delays ranging from 16 to 298 ps. Sensitivity of the accuracy and precision of the pressure data to probe delay was investigated. The technique exhibits superior precision and comparable accuracy to previous laser-diagnostic pressure measurements.