Title :
Optimization of plasma-blue-shift spectral shear interferometry for characterization of few-cycle pulses
Author :
A.V. Mitrofanov;A.J. Verhoef;A.M. Zheltikov;A. Baltuska
Author_Institution :
Photonics Institute, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstrasse 27-387, A-1040, Austria
Abstract :
Measurement of ultrashort ultraweak laser pulses with over-an-octave wide spectra poses a well-known challenge because of the spectral overlap of harmonic orders. The problem of the interference between the nonlinear signal and the fundamental spectrum can be mitigated in both frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) and spectral shearing interferometry (SPIDER) [1] techniques by using non-collinear sum-frequency generation in very thin crystals. However, the suitable phase-matching bandwidth for frequency conversion is ensured as a rule by using low conversion efficiency several-µm-thick nonlinear crystals. Additional issues that become increasingly important as the pulse duration shrinks are the minimum added dispersion of the pulse characterization apparatus [2] and the time delay accuracy/jitter between the interfering pulse replicas in SPIDER [3]. These issues were addressed in newly developed technique based on ionization induced blueshifting called iSPIDER [4]. Here we investigate optimal parameters for the use of this technique.
Keywords :
"Optical interferometry","Optical pulses","Frequency conversion","Plasma measurements","Pulse measurements","Crystals","Interference","Nonlinear optics","Shearing","Signal generators"
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics 2009 and the European Quantum Electronics Conference. CLEO Europe - EQEC 2009. European Conference on
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-4079-5
DOI :
10.1109/CLEOE-EQEC.2009.5196397