Dual spectral phase and diffraction angle compensation of a broadband AOM 4-f pulse-shaper for ultrafast spectroscopy

AOM-based pulse shaping as a method has been shown to provide many advantages in the field of ultrafast spectroscopy, in particular for the creation of phase matched pulse pairs for two-dimensional IR and electronic spectroscopy. In this paper we demonstrate the capabilities of a quartz-based AOM pulse-shaper to provide fine control over the phase and spatial dispersion of ultrafast supercontinuum pulses. We show that by using the Bragg condition, we can define a mask function for our AOM such that the angle of diffraction is constant for all frequencies. By summing all the contributions to spectral phase due to normal and anomalous dispersion of our optical components, and taking into account the intrinsic frequency dependent phase as a result of the acoustic sine wave propagating through the AOM, we can determine an optimal mask function that meets the Bragg condition for all frequencies, and generates compressed (∼50 fs) supercontinuum pulses.