Generation of arbitrarily shaped optical pulses in the subnanosecond to picosecond region using a fast electrooptic deflector

New types of optical-pulse shaper and compressor in the subnanosecond to picosecond region are proposed, in which a fast electrooptic deflector is used together with Fourier optical elements (e.g., spatial fdter, lens, slit, grating, etc.). In the preliminary experiment using a LiTaO3electrooptic-deflector device and a CW 633 nm HeNe laser, various types of shaped pulse, for example, Gaussian, squared, triangle, and double-peak pulses, were obtained with 94 ps minimum duration.