• Technical Conference:  05 – 10 May 2024
  • The CLEO Hub: 07 – 09 May 2024

SC352 - Ultrafast Laser Pulse Compression, Shaping and Characterization

Monday, 06 May
13:30 - 17:30

Short Course Level: Beginner and Advanced Beginner

Instructor:

Marcos Dantus, Michigan State University, USA

Short Course Description:

Pulse shaping is an integral part of every femtosecond laser, from chirped pulse amplification (CPA) to pulse compression. Learning about pulse shaping can help us better understand
femtosecond pulses, dispersion, pulse characterization and pulse compression. This course begins by describing a short pulse in the time and frequency domains, and how the spectral phase affects the temporal characteristics of a femtosecond pulse using hands-on computer simulations using a free pulse-shaping program. The essential physics and a brief background of the development of shapers are provided. The course goes over the experimental implementation requirements and then covers some of the most salient applications of pulse shapers, among them: (a) pulse compression, (b) pulse characterization, (c) creation of two or more pulse replicas, (d) control of nonlinear optical processes such as selective two-photon excitation and selective vibrational mode excitation, (e) material processing, (f) microscopy and others. 

The course provides a good foundation for those wanting to understand short pulses, their characterization and compression. In addition, examples will be given regarding how pulse shaping can be used to control light-matter interactions.

Short Course Benefits:

This course should enable participants to

  • Understand and describe a femtosecond laser pulse in both frequency and time domains
  • Predict how a specific spectral phase affects a laser pulse in the time domain (e.g., how chirp or higher-order dispersion affects a transform-limited pulse)
  • Design elements for accurate pulse shaping
  • Simulate the output pulse given the introduction of a particular phase and amplitude modulation by a pulse shaper, using a freeware program
  • Learn two different approaches to creating pulse replica that can be independently controlled with attosecond precision in the time domain using the pulse shaper
  • Characterize laser pulses by multiple methods (such as FROG, SPIDER, MIIPS and others) using a pulse shaper, and eliminating phase distortions to compress the output pulses to achieve transform-limited pulses
  • Summarize the advantages of pulse shaping for controlling the output of ultrafast lasers
Short Course Audience:

This course, updated yearly, is intended for everyone working in ultrafast science as well as users of femtosecond lasers in academia or industry. Attendees will learn how pulse shaping can greatly enhance femtosecond laser applications. No prior knowledge about pulse shaping is required. Advanced femtosecond laser users will benefit from learning about material that is not typically covered in textbooks.

Instructor Biography:

Marcos Dantus has over 30 years of experience working with femtosecond lasers. He is presently a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Physics at Michigan State University. Dantus’ interests include the development of practical applications for ultrafast lasers, control of nonlinear lasermatter interactions and biomedical imaging. Dantus has more than 245 publications and 30 issued patents. Dantus is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, Optica and the APS.