A time distribution system for single-shot experiments in the laboratory

Amplified femtosecond laser systems offer sufficient pulse energy to study light-matter interaction with single-shot single-particle experiments. However, such event-based experimental approaches require combining multiple detectors that are read out for each individual laser pulse while preserving time synchronization. Consequently, it is crucial to reliably assign the recorded data from separate detectors to the same laser pulse. Here, we report on developing and implementing a time distribution system for a laboratory environment that adds a unique laser pulse identification number to the data stream of various detectors. In addition, it provides configurable low-jitter trigger pulses, which are distributed along the setup.