Recent progress on mid-infrared and terahertz dual-comb spectroscopy
中红外和太赫兹双梳光谱研究进展
中赤外線とテラヘルツ二重コーム分光法の研究進展
중적외선 및 테라헤르츠 이중 중중중중적외선 분광학의 최근 발전
Progresos recientes en la espectroscopia de doble peine de infrarrojos medios y terahertz
Progrès récents sur la spectroscopie à double peigne infrarouge moyen et térahertz
Недавний прогресс в области средней инфракрасной и терагерцовой двойной гребенной спектроскопии
Zhuoren Wan ¹, Min Li ², Binbin Liu ³ ⁴, Yu Xia ¹, Yuan Chen ¹, Xiuxiu Zhang ¹, Dongxu Zhu ¹, Yan Dai ¹, Sinan Tao ², Hua Li ³ ⁵, Ming Yan ¹ ⁵, Heping Zeng ¹ ⁴ ⁶
¹ State Key Laboratory of Precision Spectroscopy, and Hainan Institute, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
中国 上海 华东师范大学海南研究院 精密光谱科学与技术国家重点实验室
² School of Optical Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
中国 上海 上海理工大学光电信息与计算机工程学院
³ Key Laboratory of Terahertz Solid State Technology Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050, China
中国 上海 中国科学院上海微系统与信息技术研究所 太赫兹固态技术重点实验室
⁴ Chongqing Key Laboratory of Precision Optics, Chongqing Institute of East China Normal University, Chongqing 401121, China
中国 重庆 华东师范大学重庆研究所精密光谱科学与技术国家重点实验室
⁵ Center of Materials Science and Optoelectronics Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
中国 北京 中国科学院大学材料科学与光电子工程中心
⁶ Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology, Jinan 250101, China
中国 济南 济南量子技术研究所
Dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) has emerged as a revolutionary optical technique, offering exceptional spectral resolution, rapid measurement capability, and inherent frequency accuracy without the need for moving parts. This review provides a comprehensive survey of the principles and technological developments of DCS within the mid-infrared (mid-IR, ~2–20 μm) and terahertz (THz, ~0.1–10 THz) spectral regions.
These regimes are of paramount importance due to the unique molecular fingerprints and low-energy excitations they encompass, spanning areas such as gas-phase chemical analysis, combustion diagnostics, and atmospheric sensing. We systematically outline the primary approaches for generating dual-comb sources in these spectral ranges, including direct generation via quantum cascade lasers, optical parametric oscillation, difference frequency generation, and microresonator-based frequency combs. The performance metrics, trade-offs, and recent innovations for each platform are critically compared.
Finally, we discuss key challenges and emerging directions, including continuous mid-infrared-to-THz spectral coverage, broadband and low-noise detection, beam quality and mode matching, quantum-enhanced sensitivity, and coherence preservation for long-term operation. We conclude by outlining future trends toward integrated, field-deployable, and application-oriented DCS systems capable of broadband molecular fingerprinting, high-speed sensing, and precision spectroscopy.
