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Ultrashort Cross-Correlation In The Middle Infrared: A Novel Approach To Standoff Detection, William Conner Thomas

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Lasers are a common tool in standoff detection because of their small divergence, large amount of power, and multiple wavelengths available for optical interaction. Optical signatures of targets can be composed of but are not limited to absorption, fluorescence, backscatter, polarization manipulation, and plasma spectra. This work was an investigation of a new signature phenomenon: Dispersion of middle infrared ultrashort laser pulses through gas and vapor phase molecules. Vibrational and rovibrational absorption lines of molecular species affect the spectral phase and spectral amplitude of ultrashort light pulses leading an inititally gaussian temporal profile to become distorted. This dissertation is an …