Single-shot measurement of the spectral envelope of broad-bandwidth terahertz pulses from femtosecond electron bunches

Phase Diversity Electro-optic Sampling: A new approach to single-shot terahertz waveform recording

Recording electric field evolution in single-shot with THz bandwidth is needed in science including spectroscopy, plasmas, biology, chemistry, Free-Electron Lasers, accelerators, and material inspection. However, the potential application range depends on the possibility to achieve sub-picosecond resolution over a long time window, which is a largely open problem for single-shot techniques. To solve this problem, we present a new conceptual approach for the so-called spectral decoding technique, where a chirped laser pulse interacts with a THz signal in a Pockels crystal, and is analyzed using a grating optical spectrum analyzer. By borrowing mathematical concepts from photonic time stretch theory and radio-frequency communication, we deduce a novel dual-output electro-optic sampling system, for which the input THz signal can be numerically retrieved-with unprecedented resolution-using the so-called phase diversity technique. We show numerically and experimentally that this approach enables the recording of THz waveforms in single-shot over much longer durations and/or higher bandwidth than previous spectral decoding techniques. We present and test the proposed DEOS (Diversity Electro-Optic Sampling) design for recording 1.5 THz bandwidth THz pulses, over 20 ps duration, in single-shot. Then we demonstrate the potential of DEOS in accelerator physics by recording, in two successive shots, the shape of 200 fs RMS relativistic electron bunches at European X-FEL, over 10 ps recording windows. The designs presented here can be used directly for accelerator diagnostics, characterization of THz sources, and single-shot Time-Domain Spectroscopy.

High-Acquisition-Rate Single-Shot Pump-Probe Measurements Using Time-Stretching Method

Recent advances of ultrafast spectroscopy allow the capture of an entire ultrafast signal waveform in a single probe shot, which greatly reduces the measurement time and opens the door for the spectroscopy of unrepeatable phenomena. However, most single-shot detection schemes rely on two-dimensional detectors, which limit the repetition rate of the measurement and can hinder real-time visualization and manipulation of signal waveforms. Here, we demonstrate a new method to circumvent these difficulties and to greatly simplify the detection setup by using a long, single-mode optical fiber and a fast photodiode. Initially, a probe pulse is linearly chirped (the optical frequency varies linearly across the pulse in time), and the temporal profile of an ultrafast signal is then encoded in the probe spectrum. The probe pulse and encoded temporal dynamics are further chirped to nanosecond time scales using the dispersion in the optical fiber, thus, slowing down the ultrafast signal to time scales easily recorded with fast detectors and high-bandwidth electronics. We apply this method to three distinct ultrafast experiments: investigating the power dependence of the Kerr signal in LiNbO₃, observing an irreversible transmission change of a phase change material, and capturing terahertz waveforms.