SC352
SC352 Ultrafast Laser Shaping and Pulse Compression
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
14:00 - 18:00
Instructor: Marcos Dantus, Michigan State Univ., USA
Level: Advanced Beginner (basic understanding of topic is necessary to follow course material)
Description:
Ultrafast lasers have already enabled two Nobel Prizes and more can be expected. Ultrafast lasers permit time-resolved studies on timescales faster than atomic motion and are the gateway to numerous nonlinear optical processes. Ultrafast lasers enable attosecond pulse generation and can be converted essentially to any frequency from terahertz to X-rays. However, working with these lasers can be difficult. This course will introduce the pulse shaper as a versatile tool for controlling ultrafast laser pulses and ensure that they are as short as possible. The course will make emphasis on applications of pulse shapers that greatly enhance the capabilities of femtosecond laser sources for (a) pulse characterization, (b) pulse compression, (c) creation of two or more pulse replicas, and (d) control of nonlinear optical processes such as selective two-photon excitation and selective vibrational mode excitation. Each participant will receive a pulse shaping simulation program to explore the exciting opportunities opened by pulse shaping.
Benefits: This course should enable participants to
1.) Design and build a pulse shaper based on a particular set of goals.
2.) Compare among different pulse shaper designs and to determine which one is best suited for a current or future research project.
3.) Simulate the output pulse from a pulse shaper given a particular phase and amplitude modulation.
4.) Define key concepts in pulse shaper design such as optical resolution and focal length.
5.) Describe the effect caused by introducing a simple phase such as a linear, quadratic or cubic function on a transform-limited pulse.
6.) Explain two different approaches to creating pulse replica that can be independently controlled in the time domain using the pulse shaper.
7.) Measure the spectral phase of laser pulses using the pulse shaper itself as the measurement tool, and eliminating phase distortions to compress the output pulses.
8.) Summarize the advantages of having an adaptive pulse shaper for controlling the output of ultrafast lasers.
Audience: This course is intended for any individual from industry or academia, student or professor, interested in learning how pulse shapers can greatly enhance the performance and utility of ultrafast (femtosecond) laser sources. No prior knowledge about pulse shaping is required.
Instructor Biography: Professor Dantus received his Ph.D. in Chemistry (1991 Caltech) where he worked on the development of Femtochemistry, and his postdoctoral work on the development of Ultrafast Electron Diffraction under Professor Zewail (1999 Nobel Prize). He is a University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Physics at Michigan State University. His interests include ultrafast laser pulse theory, development and control, control of nonlinear laser-matter interactions, and biomedical imaging. Dantus has more than 160 publications, 43 invention disclosures and 28 patents related to the characterization, compression and applications of ultrashort shaped laser pulses in the areas of nonlinear optics, communications, biomedical imaging, and analytical chemistry instruments. Dantus has founded three companies and is presently serving as the President and CEO of BioPhotonic Solutions Inc, and serves on the board of advisors for the Chemical Physics Letters and the Journal of Raman Spectroscopy.