MILLI-RADIAN ULTRAFAST LASER PULSE METROLOGY

VAlue proposition

Ultrashort laser pulses have seen widespread use in scientific, medical, and industrial fields. Their degree of coherence is a key feature that dictates the accuracy and amount of noise in its applications. The relative spectral phase within the bandwidth of the pulse needs external methods to measure and control. Controlling the spectral phase increases reproducibility, optimizes peak intensity, and allows for use in metrological applications such as the generation of pulse trains.  Previous methods such as Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating, Spectral Phase Interferometry for Direct Electric field Reconstruction, and Multiphoton Intrapulse Interference Phase Scan, can experimentally measure the phase of ultrashort laser pulses with close to sub-radian accuracy. These phase measurement methods have their limitations, being able to measure the pulse duration with 5-10% accuracy. It has been seen in a few instances that sub-radian phase accuracy is needed when the pulses are used to measure physical constants.  A self-referencing method for spectral phase measurement and pulse compression with milli-radian accuracy is proposed and validated experimentally.

Description of Technology

This technology is a means for measuring the spectral phase of an ultrafast laser pulse with milli-radian precision.  Milli-radian phase variations on compressed femtosecond pulses can be measured with the use of the π/2 scan method. This technique can be performed on top of commercially available pulse compression systems to reach levels of accuracy previously unreachable. This accuracy may find utility in areas of measurements of physical constants to metrology to correction of experimental aberrations. Attosecond precision of the spectral phase is achieved with this method and can be streamlined into one system, reducing the labor needed to find the second and third order dispersion terms. This technology allows for the generation of transform limited pulses with unprecedented accuracy. This technology provides a method for measuring the spectral phase of ultrafast laser pulses with milli-radian accuracy, equivalent to 10 attoseconds broadening on a 40-fs pulse.

Benefits

• Tight control of the spectral phase for low-noise output
• Sub-radian phase accuracy
• Increased reproducibility
• Optimized peak intensity

Applications

• Quantum computing
• Cryptography
• Applications that require tight control of the spectral phase for low-noise output
• Strong field laser-matter interactions

IP Status

Patent Pending

LICENSING RIGHTS AVAILABLE

Full licensing rights available

INVENTOR: Dr. Marcos Dantus

Tech ID: TEC2021-0015