Minimization of dispersion in an ultrafast chirped pulse amplifier using adaptive learning

Minimizing residual frequency dispersion that accompanies pulse stretching, amplification, and recompression is an important consideration in ultrashort chirped-pulse amplifiers. Here we show how an adaptive learning algorithm can be used in conjunction with a pulse shaper to compensate for higher-order and nonlinear dispersion in a chirped-pulse amplifier. Using spectral blueshifting as a sensitive diagnostic for pulse shape, we implement a 'learning loop' comprised of the pulse shaper, strong field laser ionization, and a genetic algorithm to minimize dispersion through the amplifier. We verify our optimization results using frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) measurements and also show theoretically and experimentally that spectral blueshifting is indeed a sensitive diagnostic for pulse shape, and specifically, for higher-order dispersion.     

Complete characterization of a spatiotemporal pulse shaper with two-dimensional Fourier transform spectral interferometry

Spatiotemporal pulse shaping is characterized with two-dimensional Fourier transform spectral interferometry. A deformable-mirror-based bidimensional pulse shaper is used to create simple spatiotemporal structures on a femtosecond pulse, structures that are directly calculated from the measured spatiospectral phases and intensities.     

Multiphoton intrapulse interference. IV. Ultrashort laser pulse spectral phase characterization and compensation

We introduce a noninterferometric single beam method to characterize and compensate the spectral phase of ultrashort femtosecond pulses accurately. The method uses a pulse shaper that scans calibrated phase functions to determine the unknown spectral phase of a pulse. The pulse shaper can then be used to synthesize arbitrary phase femtosecond pulses or it can introduce a compensating spectral phase to obtain transform-limited pulses. This method is ideally suited for the generation of tailored spectral phase functions required for coherent control experiments.     

Fully dispersion-compensated approximately 500 fs pulse transmission over 50 km single-mode fiber

We demonstrate essentially distortionless 50 km fiber transmission for approximately 500 fs pulses, using dispersion-compensating fiber and a programmable pulse shaper as a spectral phase equalizer. This distance is approximately five times longer than previously achieved at similar pulse widths.     

Bright and dark 40 GHz parabolic pulse generation using a picosecond optical pulse train and an arrayed waveguide grating

We demonstrate parabolic optical pulse generation by manipulating the intensity and phase of individual longitudinal modes of a 40 GHz picosecond optical pulse train in the spectral domain. Bright and dark parabolic pulses were generated from a 40 GHz mode-locked fiber laser using a 64-channel arrayed waveguide grating pulse shaper. The obtained parabolic pulse, which can easily generate a linear chirping, is useful for a number of applications to optical signal processing applications, including pulse compression and time-domain optical Fourier transformation.     

Characterization of a high efficiency, ultrashort pulse shaper incorporating a reflective 4096-element spatial light modulator

We demonstrate pulse shaping via arbitrary phase modulation with a reflective, 1 × 4096 element, liquid crystal spatial light modulator (SLM). The unique construction of this device provides a very high efficiency when the device is used for phase modulation only in a prism based pulse shaper, namely 85%. We also present a single shot characterization of the SLM in the spatial domain and a single shot characterization of the pulse shaper in the spectral domain. These characterization methods provide a detailed picture of how the SLM modifies the spectral phase of an ultrashort pulse.     

Tomographic retrieval of the polarization state of an ultrafast laser pulse

We introduce a self-referenced method for determining the complete polarization state of an ultrafast pulse field. The algorithm is based on any well-established technique that measures both the intensity and phase of a single polarization, such as frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG). We demonstrate the retrieval of nontrivial fields generated using a polarization-amplitude-phase ultrafast pulse shaper using four standard FROG measurements.     

Feedback-controlled femtosecond pulse shaping

We describe the experimental implementation of feedback-optimized femtosecond laser pulse shaping. A frequency-domain phase shaper is combined with different pulse characterization methods and appropriate optimization algorithms to compensate for any phase deviation. In particular, bandwidth-limited, amplified laser pulses are achieved by maximizing the second-harmonic generation (SHG) of the shaped laser pulses with the aid of an evolutionary algorithm. Real-time measurement of the absolute phases is achieved with spectral interferometry where the reference pulse is characterized by FROG, the so-called TADPOLE method. Using the complete electric field as feedback, arbitrary laser pulse shapes can be optimally generated in two different ways. First, a local convergence algorithm can be used to apply reliable and accurate spectral chirps. Second, an evolutionary algorithm can be employed to reach specific temporal profiles.     

Femtosecond polarization pulse shaping

We report computer-controlled femtosecond polarization pulse shaping where intensity, momentary frequency, and light polarization are varied as functions of time. For the first time to our knowledge, a pulse shaper is used to modulate the degree of ellipticity as well as the orientation of the elliptical principal axes within a single laser pulse by use of a 256-pixel two-layer liquid-crystal display inside a zero-dispersion compressor. Interferometric stability of the setup is not required. Complete pulse characterization is achieved by dual-channel spectral interferometry. This technology has a large range of applications, especially in the field of quantum control.     

Quartic-phase-limited grism-based ultrashort pulse shaper

By replacing the dispersive element in a zero-dispersion pulse shaper with a grism, we have constructed a quartic-phase-limited pulse shaper. We demonstrate compensation of 4500 fs2 without the use of a dynamic element in the pulse shaping line, which is approximately the amount of dispersion induced by a typical multiphoton microscope. We also demonstrate that detuning the pulse shaper to compensate for quadratic phase induces negligible spatial chirp, thereby maintaining a high-quality focal spot for a microscopy setup.     

Absolute calibration of Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor by spherical wavefronts

A method for absolute calibration of Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor (HSWFS), in which the wavefront differences of several spherical wavefronts are used to determine parameters of HSWFS, is proposed in this paper. The calibration method is introduced and the experiment results and error analysis are presented. Across a pupil with diameter of 2.6 mm, a lenslet array of 20 × 20 sub-apertures with square configuration, and focal length 4 mm, is used to sample the incident wave. The results indicate the uncertainty of the Hartmann-Shack wavefront sensor calibrated by the proposed method, is improved to less than λ/60 PV value and λ/500 RMS value (λ = 635 nm) with modal reconstruction method. Furthermore, the factors affected the results are analyzed. The error analysis suggested that the influences of the factors on the accuracy of reconstruction can be controlled to an accept level.     

Hartmann-Shack传感器组装误差分析

 分析了Hartmann-Shack传感器组装误差的种类,导出了旋转误差和倾斜误差的校正矩阵,在进行波前重构时乘以校正矩阵可以校正对应的组装误差。分析了两种由于组装误差导致的波前重构的相对误差的公式,并以含52个子孔径的圆形Hartmann-Shack传感器为例进行了数值模拟。研究结果表明：若不对两种组装误差进行校正,将会限制Hartmann-Shack传感器测量精度的进一步提高。为Hartmann-Shack传感器的装配提供了理论依据。     

两种M~2因子实验测量方法的比较

为了从实验上分析和验证H-S传感器测量M2因子方法,对使用双曲线拟合法测量M2因子和H-S传感器测量M2因子做了详细的实验研究,且对实验结果、实验误差进行了比较与分析。研究表明:当H-S波前传感器透镜组足够多,重构误差较小,选取合适的泽尼克多项式阶数时,H-S波前传感器一次测量法得到的光束的M2因子与传统方法测得的M2因子值基本相当。与双曲线拟合法相比,H-S传感器法适用范围小,但是当满足测量条件时,H-S传感器法更便捷。     

High repetition rate femtosecond WDM pulse generation using direct space-to-time pulse shapers and arrayed waveguide gratings

For the application of high repetition rate wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) pulse train generation from a femtosecond modelocked fiber laser, the direct space-to-time pulse shaper and a properly designed arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) are equivalent. The analogy between the bulk optics and integrated configuration is explored for this application. The critical design parameters of the AWG are the free spectral range and the pathlength difference between adjacent guides in the array.     

Hartmann-Shack传感器组装误差分析

分析了Hartmann-Shack传感器组装误差的种类,导出了旋转误差和倾斜误差的校正矩阵,在进行波前重构时乘以校正矩阵可以校正对应的组装误差。分析了两种由于组装误差导致的波前重构的相对误差的公式,并以含52个子孔径的圆形Hartmann-Shack传感器为例进行了数值模拟。研究结果表明：若不对两种组装误差进行校正,将会限制Hartmann-Shack传感器测量精度的进一步提高。为Hartmann-Shack传感器的装配提供了理论依据。     

Coherent artifact in modern pulse measurements

We simulate multishot intensity-and-phase measurements of unstable trains of complex ultrashort pulses using second-harmonic-generation (SHG) frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) and spectral-phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER). Both techniques fail to see the pulse structure. But FROG yields the correct average pulse duration and suggests the instability by exhibiting significant disagreement between measured and retrieved traces. SPIDER retrieves the correct average spectral phase but significantly underestimates the average pulse duration. In short, SPIDER measures only the coherent artifact. An analytical calculation confirms this last fact.     

Ultraviolet acousto-optic programmable dispersive filter laser pulse shaping in KDP

An acousto-optic programmable dispersive filter pulse shaper has been designed using KDP material for operation in the 200-500 nm wavelength range. With an acousto-optic interaction length of 72 mm, a spectral resolution of 0.15 nm has been measured to be consistent with theoretical predictions. Theory and experiments indicate that diffraction efficiencies up to 50% are expected in practical experimental conditions.     

Adaptive pulse compression for transform-limited 15-fs high-energy pulse generation

We demonstrate the use of a deformable-mirror pulse shaper, combined with an evolutionary optimization algorithm, to correct high-order residual phase aberrations in a 1-mJ, 1-kHz, 15-fs laser amplifier. Frequency-resolved optical gating measurements reveal that the output pulse duration of 15.2 fs is within our measurement error of the theoretical transform limit. This technique significantly reduces the pulse duration and the temporal prepulse energy of the pulse while increasing the peak intensity by 26%. It is demonstrated, for what is believed to be the first time, that the problem of pedestals in laser amplifiers can be addressed by spectral-domain correction.     

Pulse shaper assisted short laser pulse characterization

We demonstrate that a pulse shaper is able to simultaneously act as an optical waveform generator and a short pulse characterization device when combined with an appropriate nonlinear element. We present autocorrelation measurements and their frequency resolved counterparts. We show that control over the carrier envelope phase allows continuous tuning between an intensity-like and an interferometric autocorrelation. By changing the transfer function other measurement techniques, for example STRUT, are easily realized without any modification of the optical setup. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.30.Lr; 42.30.Rx     

Sensing and compensation of femtosecond waveform distortion induced by all-order polarization mode dispersion at selected polarization states

We demonstrate full characterization of femtosecond pulse distortion induced by all-order polarization mode dispersion (PMD) at selected polarization states via second-harmonic generation (SHG) frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) measurements at an average power of under 28 nW. By applying the inverse of the measured spectral phase via a programmable pulse shaper, we compress the distorted pulses from more than 3 ps to nearly bandwidth-limited durations of less than 500 fs. Our results show that SHG FROG measurements performed by using fiber-pigtailed aperiodically poled lithium niobate waveguides can serve as a robust and sensitive tool for characterization of PMD-induced spectral phase.