Self-Diffraction: A New Method for Characterization of Ultrashort Laser Pulses.

摘要

The duration and coherence of ultrashort laser pulses can be measured by a transient grating technique. In the method, a self-diffracted signal is recorded as a function of delay between two identical pulses that induce the grating in a absorbing medium. An integrated-intensity grating analysis that considers fourth-order partial-coherence effects describes the diffraction efficiency of the grating. This method, which is easily implemented, inexpensive, and can be used at any wavelength, is demonstrated with low-repetition-rate picosecond lasers. Reprints. (JHD)