Spatiotemporal characterization of ultrabroadband Airy pulses (original) (raw)
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Ultrabroadband Airy light bullets
Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 2014
We present the measurements of the spatiotemporal impulse responses of two optical systems for launching ultrashort Airy pulses, incl. ultrabroadband nonspreading Airy beams whose main lobe size remains invariantly small over propagation. First, a spatial light modulator and, second, a custom refractive element with continuous surface profile were used to impose the required cubic phase on the input field. White-light spectral interferometry setup based on the SEA TADPOLE technique was applied for full spatio-temporal characterization of the impulse response with ultrahigh temporal resolution approaching a single cycle of the light wave. The results were compared to the theoretical model.
Optics express, 2011
We propose a scheme for producing attosecond pulses with sophisticated spatio-spectral waveforms. The profile of a seed attosecond pulse is modified and its central frequency is up-converted through interaction with an infrared pump pulse. The transverse profile of the infrared beam and a spatiotemporal shift between the seed and infrared pulses are used for manipulating the spatio-spectral waveform of the generated pulse beam. We present several examples of sophisticated isolated attosecond pulse beam generation, including spatio-spectral Airy beam that exhibits prismatic self-bending effect and a beam undergoing auto-focusing to a sub-micron spot without the need of a focusing lens or nonlinearity.
Time-and-space-domain study of diffracting and non-diffracting light pulses
Lithuanian Journal of Physics, 2010
We present an overview of our very recent results on the evolution of ultrashort pulses after propagating through various optical elements. Direct spatiotemporal measurements of the electric field were made using the technique SEA TADPOLE. Our SEA TADPOLE device can resolve spatial features as small as ∼5 µm and temporal features as small as ∼5 fs. The experimental results are verified by theoretical calculations. The superluminality of pulses with Bessel-function-like radial profiles is discussed.
What We Can Learn about Ultrashort Pulses by Linear Optical Methods
Applied Sciences, 2013
Spatiotemporal compression of ultrashort pulses is one of the key issues of chirped pulse amplification (CPA), the most common method to achieve high intensity laser beams. Successful shaping of the temporal envelope and recombination of the spectral components of the broadband pulses need careful alignment of the stretcher-compressor stages. Pulse parameters are required to be measured at the target as well. Several diagnostic techniques have been developed so far for the characterization of ultrashort pulses. Some of these methods utilize nonlinear optical processes, while others based on purely linear optics, in most cases, combined with spectrally resolving device. The goal of this work is to provide a review on the capabilities and limitations of the latter category of the ultrafast diagnostical methods. We feel that the importance of these powerful, easy-to-align, high-precision techniques needs to be emphasized, since their use could gradually improve the efficiency of different CPA systems. We give a general description on the background of spectrally resolved linear interferometry and demonstrate various schematic experimental layouts for the detection of material dispersion, angular dispersion and carrier-envelope phase drift. Precision estimations and discussion of potential applications are also provided.
Accuracy of Waveform Spectrum Analysis for Ultrashort Optical Pulses
IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 2000
We investigate the waveform power spectrum (WPS) measurement of ultrashort pulses using the nonlinear Kerr effect in an optical waveguide. Our study focuses on a recent experiment reporting the WPS measurement of 260-fs pulses using a 6-cmlong, highly nonlinear chalcogenide (ChG) planar waveguide. By numerical simulation of the underpinning nonlinear propagation, we show the importance of low chromatic dispersion in the waveguide for avoiding measurement inaccuracy due to bandwidth narrowing and asymmetric distortion of the WPS. We also show the distortion effect of excessive input power on broadening the WPS bandwidth. In comparison to using conventional nonlinear fibers, highly nonlinear ChG waveguides are shown to generally enable a more accurate and broadband measurement of shorter pulses over a multiterahertz frequency range, and for a wider ranging signal wavelength. Furthermore, higher order dispersion effects are also avoided. Experiments with nonlinear fiber show its capability to measure the WPS of high-speed 640-Gb/s data signals, albeit for broader pulses and with less wavelength flexibility. Furthermore, the WPS is used to effectively retrieve the signal autocorrelation waveform. The factors impacting the measurement accuracy is compared to other recent experiments using ChG and silicon waveguides. Analysis shows that extending the technique to pulses shorter than 260 fs requires further optimizing the ChG waveguide dispersion, which would benefit broadband signal processing in general. Index Terms-Nonlinear wave propagation, optical propagation in nonlinear media, optical pulse measurements, spectral analysis, ultrafast optics.
2020
Many applications of ultrashort laser pulses require the manipulation and control of the pulse parameters by using pulse shaping systems. The design and simulation of such optical systems usually require pulse propagation methods which take the combined effects of dispersion, diffraction, and system aberrations into account. In the Vektorfeldern durch optische Systeme zu ermöglichen. Es werden mehrere Beispielberechnungen vorgestellt, um die vorgeschlagenen Methoden zu validieren und deren Anwendung bei der Ausbreitung von Feldern durch optische Systeme, deren Modellierung mit herkömmlichen Methoden kompliziert ist, zu zeigen.
Ultrashort Pulse Characterisation Using an Acousto-Optic Bulk Pulse Shaper
2011
A basic optical setup including an acousto-optic programmable dispersive filter (Dazzler) has been used to fully characterise an ultrashort pulse. A baseband FROG technique has been used to measure the pulse, with pulse replica creation and inter pulse delay controlled by the Dazzler. The system has been calibrated with Fourier transform spectral interferometry to ensure that dispersion calculated for the Dazzler crystal was accurate. A 12.2 fs pulse was measured with the Phazzler, which as far as we are aware is the shortest pulse measured in such a device.