Generation and Implementation of Continuum Infrared Pulses for Broadband Detection in 2D IR Spectroscopy

In recent years, new methods of generating continuum mid-infrared pulses through filamentation in gases have been developed for ultrafast time-resolved infrared vibrational spectroscopy. The generated infrared pulses can have thousands of wavenumbers of bandwidth, spanning the entire mid-IR region while retaining pulse length below 100 fs. This technology has had a significant impact on problems involving ultrafast structural dynamics in congested spectra with broad features, such as those found in aqueous solutions and molecules with strong intermolecular interactions. This study describes the recent advances in generating and characterizing these pulses and the practical aspects of implementing these sources for broadband detection in transient absorption and 2D IR spectroscopy.