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Updated: May 20, 2026

Implementation of a Reference Interferometer for Nanodetection
Published on: April 26, 2014
Self-referenced spectral interferometry for ultrashort infrared pulse characterization
A Trisorio1, S Grabielle, M Divall
1Paul Scherrer Institute, 5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland. alexandre.trisorio@psi.ch
We demonstrate ultrashort infrared (IR) pulse characterization using self-referenced spectral interferometry. This method successfully analyzes both sub-55-fs pulses and 13 fs broadband pulses, advancing optical science.
Area of Science:
- Ultrafast optics
- Nonlinear optics
- Spectroscopy
Background:
- Characterizing ultrashort infrared (IR) pulses is crucial for applications in spectroscopy and nonlinear optics.
- Existing methods for ultrashort pulse characterization face limitations in spectral range and temporal resolution.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate a novel method for characterizing ultrashort IR pulses.
- To showcase the capability of self-referenced spectral interferometry for analyzing complex IR pulse structures.
Main Methods:
- Utilizing self-referenced spectral interferometry for ultrashort pulse analysis.
- Characterizing pulses in the 1.4 μm to 2 μm spectral range.
- Analyzing broadband 2.5-cycle pulses with a 13 fs full width at half maximum (FWHM).
Main Results:
- Successfully characterized sub-55-fs ultrashort IR pulses.
- Demonstrated the characterization of broadband 13 fs FWHM pulses at 1.65 μm.
- Validated the effectiveness of self-referenced spectral interferometry for IR pulse analysis.
Conclusions:
- Self-referenced spectral interferometry is a powerful technique for ultrashort IR pulse characterization.
- This method enables detailed analysis of complex pulse shapes and durations in the IR spectrum.
- The demonstrated technique opens new avenues for research and applications utilizing ultrashort IR pulses.
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