Simultaneous rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy and coherent Stokes Raman spectroscopy with arbitrary pump–Stokes spectral separation

A new approach to pure rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) and coherent Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CSRS) is demonstrated in which the pump and broadband Stokes lasers that are mixed have a large and arbitrary spectral separation. In this method, the rotational Raman coherences are established by different frequency components within the single, broadband Stokes source. The narrow band then scatters from the excited coherences, producing CARS and CSRS simultaneously. We discuss phase matching for this new technique and its inherent advantages relative to pure rotational CARS as normally implemented.