Ultrafast optical pulse shaping: A tutorial review

This paper presents a tutorial on the field of femtosecond pulse shaping, a technology that enables generation of nearly arbitrary, user defined, ultrafast optical waveforms, with control of phase, amplitude, and polarization. The emphasis is on Fourier transform pulse shaping, the most widely applied technique. Selected pulse shaping applications are described, with specific discussion of coherent control of quantum and nonlinear processes and of lightwave communications. Two new areas of pulse shaping research, namely, hyperfine spectral resolution pulse shaping and pulse shaping applications in ultrabroadband RF photonics, are discussed and illustrated with examples taken from the author's laboratory.     

利用飞秒脉冲光谱全息实现空域信息向时域信息的转换

在Mazurenko提出的时域超短脉冲光谱全息结构的基础上,提出了改进型的飞秒脉冲光谱全息结构,并推导了当输入脉冲光场中包含时、空分布时光谱全息的记录和再现。结果发现当在光谱全息记录和再现时,如果频谱面上添加空间滤波器,可以实现飞秒脉冲包含的空域信息向时域信息的转换。结论可以应用到超短脉冲整形,超高速光通信和光信息处理等领域。     

Femtosecond pulse-shape modulation at nanosecond rates

We report high-rate, computer-controlled femtosecond pulse shaping by use of an electro-optical gallium arsenide optical phased-array modulator with 2304 controlled waveguides. It provides fast modulation speed of both spectral phases and amplitudes. Limited by the driving electronics of our current setup, we were able to update a pulse shape in approximately 30 ns. This technique paves the way toward individual shaping of every single pulse of typical femtosecond mode-locked oscillators.     

Frequency doubling and Fourier domain shaping the output of a femtosecond optical parametric amplifier: easy access to tuneable femtosecond pulse shapes in the deep ultraviolet

Tuneable, shaped, ultraviolet (UV) femtosecond laser pulses are produced by shaping and frequency doubling the output of a commercial optical parametric amplifier (OPA). A reflective mode, folded, pulse shaping assembly employing a spatial light modulator (SLM) shapes femtosecond pulses in the visible region of the spectrum. The shaped visible light pulses are frequency doubled to generate phase- and amplitude-shaped, ultrashort light pulses in the deep ultraviolet. This approach benefits from a simple experimental setup and the potential for tuning the central frequency of the shaped ultraviolet waveform. A number of pulse shapes have been synthesised and characterised using cross-correlation frequency resolved optical gating (XFROG). This pulse shaping method can be employed for coherent control experiments in the ultraviolet region of the spectrum where many organic molecules have strong absorption bands. D.S.N. Parker and A.D.G. Nunn contributed equally to this work.     

All-optical programmable shaping of narrow-band nanosecond pulses with picosecond accuracy by use of adapted chirps and quadratic nonlinearities

We experimentally demonstrate pure optical pulse picosecond shaping of narrow-bandwidth nanosecond pulses. The method used is based on the manipulation in the spectral domain of strongly chirped femtosecond pulses and on the use of either frequency addition or frequency difference.     

Spectral phase control and temporal superresolution toward the single-cycle pulse

The concept of temporal superresolution is applied to optical few-cycle laser pulses for the first time to our knowledge. Pulse durations of as little as to 3.7 fs, well below the Fourier limit, are achieved by pulse shaping of an octave-spanning Ti:sapphire oscillator spectrum. Our prism-based pulse shaper also enables us to generate a manifold of well-controlled pulse sequences that are important for coherent control applications on a femtosecond time scale.     

飞秒激光脉冲整形技术及其应用

通过频域上控制飞秒激光脉冲幅度、相位和偏振在时域上可以获得几乎任意形状的飞秒激光脉冲,这种飞秒激光脉冲整形技术可为研究光与原子分子非线性相互作用提供一种全新实验技术手段.本文介绍飞秒激光脉冲整形发展历史、技术方法、控制方式及其相关应用,并展望飞秒激光脉冲整形技术未来的发展方向.     

Adaptive control of femtosecond pulse propagation in optical fibers

Nonlinear effects present fundamental obstacles to the propagation of femtosecond pulses of detectable energy in single-mode optical fibers, inducing severe distortion even after a very short (a few meters) propagation distance. We show here that adaptive pulse shaping can overcome these limitations by synthesizing pulses that are self-correcting for higher-order nonlinear effects when they are launched in the fiber. This approach would not only affect optical communications but also yield benefits in various disciplines requiring optimized fiber-based femtosecond pulse delivery, for example, nonlinear imaging techniques such as multiphoton microscopy, material processing, and medical diagnostics.     

Adaptive dispersion compensation for remote fiber delivery of near-infrared femtosecond pulses

We report on remote delivery of 25-pJ broadband near-infrared femtosecond light pulses from a Ti:sapphire laser through 150 m of single-mode optical fiber. Pulse distortion caused by dispersion is overcome with precompensation by adaptive pulse shaping techniques, while nonlinearities are mitigated by use of an SF10 glass rod for the final stage of pulse compression. A near-transform-limited pulse duration of 130 fs was measured after the final compression.     

Influence of propagation and external phase in sequential two-photon absorption of femtosecond pulses

We study the influence of shaping the phase of the optical field when time-delayed femtosecond pulse pairs excite a sequential two-photon transition in rubidium atoms. Propagation through this optically dense medium modifies the pulse profile. When an external phase is introduced into one of the pulses, partial cancellation of the two-photon absorption signal is observed for temporal delays much greater than the pulse duration. This behavior is qualitatively explained in terms of a negative group delay.     

时域多模飞秒压缩光场测量中的本地光脉冲整形研究

基于飞秒脉冲的同步泵浦参量过程产生的多模时域飞秒压缩光场,由于其独特的优势,特别是可以享有单模光纤网络兼容,是实现可扩展量子计算及大容量量子通讯的良好光源。由于无法实现多模时域飞秒压缩光场的空间分离,目前对于多模时域飞秒压缩光场的测量,采用最为有效的平衡零拍探测。因此如何构造与时域飞秒压缩光场时域函数分布相同的本地光,是其中的关键内容,并直接影响测量效果。本文主要理论研究了本地脉冲光的时域整形方案,分析了系统参数对整形后的多模本地光的保真度以及系统调制效率的影响,并结合实验参数提出可能的解决办法。     

A new high-resolution femtosecond pulse shaper

A novel liquid crystal display (LCD) with 640 stripes was successfully implemented and investigated for femtosecond pulse shaping. As compared to previously used devices, the large active area allows for operation in high-power laser systems. The increased number of pixels greatly enlarges the manifold of accessible pulse modulations, making the device an ideal tool for coherent control experiments and optical information processing. Received: 1 February 2001 / Published online: 21 March 2001     

Experimental implementation of ultrashort laser pulses in the von Neumann picture

The characterization and interpretation of ultrashort laser pulses is most intuitive in the joint time–frequency domain, where structures like multiple pulses become immediately apparent. For practical reasons, ultrafast femtosecond laser pulse shaping, however, is commonly carried out in the frequency domain. Here we implement pulse shaping of optical fields defined in the von Neumann representation, which is a joint time–frequency distribution with complex-valued Gaussian basis functions. We discuss the feasibility as well as the principal limitations of this technique, show illustrative examples, and propose possible applications in coherent control.     

基于旋转相干光谱的整形飞秒激光转动动力学调控

我们实验上发展了基于飞秒激光旋转相干光谱的整形飞秒激光转动动力学调控方法，通过脉冲整形技术调控激发脉冲的光谱相位，从而实现对飞秒激光作用下转动态相干激发过程中复原信号及转动布居数的调控. 研究了飞秒激光旋转相干光谱对激光频谱相位的响应机制，突出了飞秒激光频谱相位在气相分子转动态相干激发中的重要作用. 为飞秒激光作用下生物大分子和团簇鉴别及结构探测研究提供了新的参考.     

基于瞬态光栅频率分辨光学开关法测量飞秒脉冲的研究

超宽光谱的飞秒脉冲测量一直是超快激光领域的重要研究方向之一.常规的飞秒脉冲自相关方法是通过测量自相关倍频信号来获得,而倍频信号具有波长选择性,不同中心波长的飞秒脉冲测量需要更换不同的倍频晶体,十分不方便.因此,提出了一种改进型的瞬态光栅频率分辨光学开关(TG-FROG)方法用于测量飞秒脉冲.该方法结合四波混频和频率分辨光学开关方法,其基本过程是将待测脉冲分为三束,其中两束脉冲经过精密的延时控制并聚焦在光学介质上达到时空重合,利用三阶非线性效应产生稳定的瞬态光栅作为开关光;另一束脉冲作为探测光与产生的瞬态光栅进行相互作用产生一个信号光,使用光谱仪对该信号光的光谱与延迟时间进行测量,并通过反演迭代算法处理而获取待测飞秒脉冲的光谱与电场信息.该方法只需要待测光的功率密度达到三阶非线性效应就可以实现测量,因此可以应用于任意中心波长的飞秒脉冲测量.利用该方法对中心波长分别为800 nm, 400 nm的飞秒脉冲,以及超连续亚10 fs的周期量级超宽光谱飞秒脉冲进行了测量,并与常规的干涉自相关仪器测量结果进行了比较,所得测量结果基本一致.实验结果表明,建立的基于TG-FROG方法对不同中心波长,不同脉冲宽度的飞秒脉冲测量是十分有效的.     

基于多光子脉冲内干涉相位扫描法对飞秒激光脉冲进行相位测量和补偿的研究

研制了一套基于多光子脉冲内干涉相位扫描方法的可以同时对飞秒激光脉冲进行相位测量和补偿的实验系统装置.实验中,通过自主研发的LabVIEW程序控制液晶空间光调制器和光纤光谱仪,对待测飞秒激光脉冲施加相位扫描,并同时记录受到调制的飞秒激光脉冲的倍频光谱,得到了多光子脉冲内干涉相位扫描(MIIPS)轨迹图.通过MIIPS轨迹图的三次测量和迭代运算,还原出了经过预先啁啾调制的中心波长约为810 nm、重复频率为1 kHz的飞秒激光脉冲的光谱相位,测量精度在0.1 rad以内.根据测量结果,利用液晶空间光调制器对该飞秒激光脉冲进行相位补偿,得到了近似傅里叶变换极限的飞秒激光脉冲.这一装置将在多光子显微成像、脉冲整形、飞秒激光光谱学等众多领域发挥重要作用.     

Diffraction-based femtosecond pulse shaping with a two-dimensional spatial light modulator

A new diffraction-based method is proposed and demonstrated for simultaneous shaping of both the phase and amplitude of femtosecond laser pulses by use of a phase-only two-dimensional spatial light modulator. The method suppresses certain types of temporal replica features ordinarily observed in femtosecond pulse shaping owing to imperfections in modulator devices and allows for multiplexed outputs suitable for use in various applications.     

Femtosecond pulse shaping using counter-propagating pulses in a semiconductor optical amplifier

An efficient pulse shaping method using counter-propagating pulses in the femtosecond regime is proposed and investigated. The effects of pump pulse power and pulsewidth on probe pulse are studied in counter-propagation scheme. It is shown that, with the proposed method, output probe pulse temporal and spectral peak shift due to femtosecond nonlinearities can be compensated, while the output pulse is amplified sufficiently. Furthermore, in relatively high power regime, the probe pulsewidth and time-bandwidth product are improved using counter-propagating pump pulse.     

All optical parallel-to-serial conversion by modified spectral holography structure

In this paper, a modified spectral holography structure is demonstrated. Combining the direct space-to-time pulse shaping theory with the modified structure, we can convert a spatial domain x–y image into a y–t image, where one spatial dimension is now transformed into the time domain. Thus we realize the space-to-time or parallel-to-serial conversion. As an example, we generate the temporal equivalent of letter “A”, where each pixel of the image is now represented by a short optical pulse. As a possible application of our scheme, we demonstrate the generation of trains of a femtosecond pulse sequence by our structure. The results of the paper can be applied in ultrashort pulse shaping, ultrafast communication and other relevant areas.     

激光光场的大行程相位锁定及控制系统

提出了一种实现大行程飞秒激光脉冲对相位控制的方法。其设计思想是:在迈克耳孙干涉仪中,利用改变激光偏振态的方法改变输出两光束的光程差因子。在对He-Ne激光输出的两束光实现相位锁定的基础上,进而提出了一种可对于超短激光双脉冲相对相位差实现超大行程控制的方法。对He-Ne激光的动态相位锁定、以及飞秒激光脉冲对的相对相位差控制分别作了实验验证。对He-Ne激光的静态相位锁定结果表明干涉仪两臂光程差可以控制在纳米精度;而飞秒激光脉冲测量自相关曲线与理论拟合结果非常接近,经傅里叶变换可得到较好的单峰谱图。该系统能够在实验范围中几乎无行程限制地实现飞秒激光脉冲对的相对相位动态稳定控制。