Measurement of surface plasmon autocorrelation functions

In this paper we demonstrate the realization of an autocorrelator for the characterization of ultrashort surface plasmon polariton (SPP) pulses. A wedge shaped structure is used to continuously increase the time delay between two interfering SPPs. The autocorrelation signal is monitored by non-linear two-photon photoemission electron microscopy. The presented approach is applicable to other SPP sensitive detection schemes that provide only moderate spatial resolution and may therefore be of general interest in the field of ultrafast plasmonics.