Sub-100 fs two-color pump-probe spectroscopy of single wall carbon nanotubes with a 100 MHz Er-fiber laser system

An extremely compact and versatile near-infrared two-color femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy apparatus based on an amplified Er-fiber laser system is presented and applied to the characterization of the relaxation dynamics of single-wall carbon nanotubes with fundamental absorption in the 2 mu m spectral region. By implementing a fast-scan technique, dynamics as long as 3 ps are acquired in 5 s with a relative sensitivity of 10(-4) and a temporal resolution below 100 fs at 2 mu m. (c) 2008 Optical Society of America.