Rapid-scan acousto-optical delay line with 34 kHz scan rate and 15 as precision

Opt Lett. 2013 Aug 1;38(15):2907-10. doi: 10.1364/OL.38.002907.

Abstract

An optical fast scan delay exploiting the near-collinear interaction between a train of ultrashort optical pulses and an acoustic wave propagating in a birefringent crystal is introduced. In combination with a femtosecond Er:fiber laser, the scheme is shown to delay few femtosecond pulses by up to 6 ps with a precision of 15 as. A resolution of 5 fs is obtained for a single sweep at a repetition rate of 34 kHz. This value can be improved to 39 as for multiple scans at a total rate of 0.3 kHz.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Acoustics*
  • Lasers
  • Optical Phenomena*
  • Time Factors