Arbitrary pulse shaping with picosecond resolution over multiple-nanosecond records
US10901295B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 10, 2017 |
| Grant date | Jan 26, 2021 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 26, 2037 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01S3/1106
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The present invention extends the resolution capability for shaping optical pulses on laser systems from the current state of the art resolution of ˜250 ps to ˜1 ps by utilizing a hybrid of EOM and spectral shaping technologies. In one embodiment, a short pulse derived from a mode-locked laser oscillator is dispersed using a dispersive stretcher to about 250 ps, providing a linear mapping of spectrum to time. A typical spectral shaper is used to directly write the desired temporal pattern in the spectral domain to produce a crudely patterned waveform that may also suffer from chirp. The chirp is removed by a process known as difference frequency generation by mixing it with a pulse derived from an equally chirped frequency-doubled pump in an optical parametric amplifier. The pattern is then focused in time, which is accomplished in one embodiment by propagating the pattern through a dispersive element.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.