Fast f-to-2f interferometer for a direct measurement of the carrier-envelope phase drift of ultrashort amplified laser pulses

We propose a novel method to directly extract the phase from spectral interferograms, without the need for digital signal processing. This method is demonstrated with single-shot measurement and stabilization of the carrier-envelope phase of a 3 kHz amplifier system. Our scheme allows for real-time monitoring of the carrier-envelope drift and an increased loop width for stabilization. We find that in our amplifier laser system fast carrier-envelope phase jitter is mainly inherited from the oscillator stabilization loop but we also find previously unreported indications for a rapid pulse-to-pulse jitter from the amplifier pump laser.