Single-shot Measurement of the Complete Temporal Intensity and Phase of Supercontinuum

Tsz Chun Wong, Michelle Rhodes, Rick Trebino
2014 CLEO: 2014   unpublished
When a narrowband laser pulse evolves into a broadband pulse, for example, via transmission through a photonic crystal fiber, the resulting continuum usually exhibits massive shot-to-shot pulse-shape fluctuations. The continuum's extreme complexity prevents its single-shot measurement, with the best estimates so far resulting from an average over many pulses. Here we solve this problem using cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating, achieving the necessary large spectral range using
more » ... polarization-gating geometry and the necessary large temporal range by significantly tilting the reference pulse. Furthermore, we have also discovered that we can simultaneously cancel the previously unavoidable longitudinal geometrical smearing by using a carefully chosen combination of pulse tilt and beam-crossing angle, thus simultaneously achieving the required temporal resolution. We hence make a complete measurement of an individual complex continuum pulse generated in photonic crystal fiber. By enabling measurement of single optical rogue waves, this technique could provide insight and perhaps even lead to the prediction of when mathematically similar, destructive oceanic rogue waves may occur.
doi:10.1364/cleo_si.2014.sf1e.2 fatcat:s7by3tzapnganhloueiovbdxze