Real-time pulse length measurement of few-cycle laser pulses using above-threshold ionization

Opt Express. 2011 Feb 28;19(5):4464-71. doi: 10.1364/OE.19.004464.

Abstract

The pulse lengths of intense few-cycle (4-10 fs) laser pulses at 790 nm are determined in real-time using a stereographic above-threshold ionization (ATI) measurement of Xe, i.e. the same apparatus recently shown to provide a precise, real-time, every-single-shot, carrier-envelope phase measurement of ultrashort laser pulses. The pulse length is calibrated using spectral-phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER) and roughly agrees with calculations done using quantitative rescattering theory (QRS). This stereo-ATI technique provides the information necessary to characterize the waveform of every pulse in a kHz pulse train, within the Gaussian pulse approximation, and relies upon no theoretical assumptions. Moreover, the real-time display is a highly effective tool for tuning and monitoring ultrashort pulse characteristics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Computer Systems
  • Equipment Design
  • Equipment Failure Analysis / instrumentation*
  • Ions
  • Lasers*
  • Photometry / instrumentation*
  • Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted / instrumentation*

Substances

  • Ions