An autocorrelator is a versatile, easy-to-use diagnostic for measuring the pulse shape and durations of ultrafast laser pulses. Autocorrelators are capable of measuring pulse widths from both high repetition rate (MHz) oscillators and low repetition rate (kHz) amplifiers in the visible and IR wavelength range. When phase information of the pulse is not required, autocorrelation is the simplest and most affordable method for determining pulse width.

There are several commercially available autocorrelators on the market such as the Spectra-Physics PulseScout™. They are usually designed to measure pulses from a few femtoseconds to several picoseconds in duration. Very often, however, there is a need in research labs to combine the capabilities of measuring very short pulses in the range of tens of femtoseconds with the capability of measuring long pulses on the order of tens of picoseconds with femtosecond resolutions. A typical example is the stretching of a femtosecond pulse to many picoseconds for experiments where large bandwidths are required or chirped pulse amplification. More than just measuring ultrashort pulses, autocorrelators can be used to detect signals in time regions relatively inaccessible by most detectors.

The Newport long scan autocorrelator kit is a simple and cost effective solution for measuring the pulse ...

An autocorrelator is a versatile, easy-to-use diagnostic for measuring the pulse shape and durations of ultrafast laser pulses. Autocorrelators are capable of measuring pulse widths from both high repetition rate (MHz) oscillators and low repetition rate (kHz) amplifiers in the visible and IR wavelength range. When phase information of the pulse is not required, autocorrelation is the simplest and most affordable method for determining pulse width.

There are several commercially available autocorrelators on the market such as the Spectra-Physics PulseScout™. They are usually designed to measure pulses from a few femtoseconds to several picoseconds in duration. Very often, however, there is a need in research labs to combine the capabilities of measuring very short pulses in the range of tens of femtoseconds with the capability of measuring long pulses on the order of tens of picoseconds with femtosecond resolutions. A typical example is the stretching of a femtosecond pulse to many picoseconds for experiments where large bandwidths are required or chirped pulse amplification. More than just measuring ultrashort pulses, autocorrelators can be used to detect signals in time regions relatively inaccessible by most detectors.

The Newport long scan autocorrelator kit is a simple and cost effective solution for measuring the pulse width of various ultrafast lasers with wavelength within 480 nm-2000 nm. All of the mounts and optics in this kit have been selected by the Ph.D. scientists in the Newport Technology and Applications Center for use in combination with all Spectra-Physics Ultrafast Ti:Sapphire lasers, and optical parametric devices. To provide maximum value to the customer the kit includes the new Newport 1935-C High-Performance Optical Power Meters and 918D Low-Power Detector. The power meter acts as the data acquisition device for the setup, eliminating the need for a costly photomultiplier and A/D card or oscilloscope. The kit includes a high resolution automated translation stage with 25 mm of travel corresponding to a total time delay of greater than 160 ps with 25 fs resolution. This makes it a valuable tool for investigating sidebands and satellites of laser pulses which may contain significant amounts of the total pulse energy and interfere with complex time-domain signals associated with pump-probe experiments. In contrast to the commercially available autocorelators which have clear aperture of a few mm, the Newport long scan autocorrelator kit is suitable for beam sizes of up to 10 mm. The dynamic range of the detection system allows contrast measurements up to 7000:1.

The kit also includes reference software* that can be customized for user's application.