11-μs time-resolved, continuous dual-comb spectroscopy with spectrally filtered mode-locked frequency combs

Broadband dual-comb spectroscopy (DCS) based on portable mode-locked fiber frequency combs is a powerful tool for in situ, calibration-free, multi-species spectroscopy. While the acquisition of a single spectrum with mode-locked DCS typically takes microseconds to milliseconds, the applications of these spectrometers have generally been limited to systems and processes with time changes on the order of seconds or minutes due to the need to average many spectra to reach a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Here, we demonstrate high-speed, continuous, fiber mode-locked laser DCS with down to 11 μs time resolution. We achieve this by filtering the comb spectra using portable Fabry–Perot cavities to generate filtered combs with 1 GHz tooth spacing. The 1 GHz spacing increases the DCS acquisition speed and SNR for a given optical bandwidth while retaining a sufficient spacing to resolve absorption features over a wide range of conditions. We measure spectra of methane inside a rapid compression machine throughout the 16 ms compression cycle with 133 cm −1 bandwidth (4000 comb teeth) and 1.4 ms time resolution by spectrally filtering one of the combs. By filtering both combs, we measured a single-shot, 25 cm −1 (750 comb teeth) spectrum of CO around 6330 cm −1 in 11 μs. The technique enables simultaneously high-speed and high-resolution DCS measurements, and can be applied anywhere within the octave-spanning spectrum of robust and portable fiber mode-locked frequency combs.