Bhalavi RK, Béjot P, Leblanc A, Dubrouil A, Billard F, Faucher O, Hertz E. Phase-matching-free ultrashort laser pulse characterization from a transient plasma lens.
OPTICS LETTERS 2024;
49:1321-1324. [PMID:
38427003 DOI:
10.1364/ol.516584]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
A phase-matching-free ultrashort pulse retrieval based on the defocusing of a laser-induced plasma is presented. In this technique, a pump pulse ionizes a rare gas providing a plasma lens whose creation time is ultrafast. A probe pulse propagating through this gas lens experiences a switch of its divergence. The spectrum of the diverging part, isolated by a coronograph, is measured as a function of the pump-probe delay, providing a spectrogram that allows for a comprehensive characterization of the temporal properties of the probe pulse. The method, called PI-FROSt for "plasma-induced frequency-resolved optical switching," is simple, is free of phase-matching constraints, and can operate in both self- and cross-referenced configurations at ultrahigh repetition rate in the whole transparency range of the gas. The assessment of the method demonstrates laser pulse reconstructions of high reliability in both near-infrared (NIR) and ultraviolet (UV) spectral ranges.
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