TY - JOUR
T1 - Phase-matching-free pulse retrieval based on transient absorption in solids
AU - Leblanc, A.
AU - Lassonde, P.
AU - Petit, S.
AU - Delagnes, J. C.
AU - Haddad, E.
AU - Ernotte, G.
AU - Bionta, M. R.
AU - Gruson, V.
AU - Schmidt, B. E.
AU - Ibrahim, H.
AU - Cormier, E.
AU - Légaré, And F.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement
PY - 2019/9/30
Y1 - 2019/9/30
N2 - In this paper, we introduce a pulse characterization technique that is free of phase-matching constraints, exploiting transient absorption in solids as an ultrafast optical switch. Based on a pump-probe setup, this technique uses pump pulses of sufficient intensity to induce the switch, while the pulses to characterize are probing the transmissivity drop of the photoexcited material. This enables the characterization of low-intensity ultra-broadband pulses at the detection limit of the spectrometer and within the transparency range of the solid. For example, by using zinc selenide (ZnSe), pulses with wavelengths from 0.5 to 20 µm can be characterized, denoting five octaves of spectral range. Using ptychography, we retrieve the temporal profiles of both the probe pulse and the switch. To demonstrate this approach, we measure ultrashort pulses from a titanium-sapphire (Ti-Sa) amplifier, which are compressed using a hollow core fiber setup, as well as infrared to mid-infrared pulses generated from an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). The characterized pulses are centered at wavelengths of 0.77, 1.53, 1.75, 4, and 10 µm, down to sub-two optical cycles duration, exceeding an octave of bandwidth, and with energy as low as a few nanojoules.
AB - In this paper, we introduce a pulse characterization technique that is free of phase-matching constraints, exploiting transient absorption in solids as an ultrafast optical switch. Based on a pump-probe setup, this technique uses pump pulses of sufficient intensity to induce the switch, while the pulses to characterize are probing the transmissivity drop of the photoexcited material. This enables the characterization of low-intensity ultra-broadband pulses at the detection limit of the spectrometer and within the transparency range of the solid. For example, by using zinc selenide (ZnSe), pulses with wavelengths from 0.5 to 20 µm can be characterized, denoting five octaves of spectral range. Using ptychography, we retrieve the temporal profiles of both the probe pulse and the switch. To demonstrate this approach, we measure ultrashort pulses from a titanium-sapphire (Ti-Sa) amplifier, which are compressed using a hollow core fiber setup, as well as infrared to mid-infrared pulses generated from an optical parametric amplifier (OPA). The characterized pulses are centered at wavelengths of 0.77, 1.53, 1.75, 4, and 10 µm, down to sub-two optical cycles duration, exceeding an octave of bandwidth, and with energy as low as a few nanojoules.
U2 - 10.1364/OE.27.028998
DO - 10.1364/OE.27.028998
M3 - Article
C2 - 31684642
AN - SCOPUS:85072690525
SN - 1094-4087
VL - 27
SP - 28998
EP - 29015
JO - Optics Express
JF - Optics Express
IS - 20
ER -