Harmonic Generation Frequency-resolved Optical Gating Research Articles

Reconstruction of Femtosecond Laser Pulses from FROG Traces by Convolutional Neural Networks

We report on the reconstruction of ultrashort laser pulses from computer-simulated and experimental second harmonic generation-frequency resolved optical gating (SHG-FROG) spectrograms. In order to retrieve the spectral amplitude and phase we use a convolutional neural network trained on simulated SHG-FROG spectrograms and the corresponding spectral-domain fields employed as labels for the network, which is a complex field encompassing the full information about the amplitude and phase. Our results show excellent retrieval capabilities of the neural network in case of the simulated pulses. Although trained only on computer generated data, the method shows promising results regarding experimentally measured pulses.

V-FROG—single-scan vectorial FROG

We propose and experimentally demonstrate single-scan vectorial frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) which characterizes the amplitude, phase and polarization of ultrashort laser pulses using a single measured spectrogram. It is carried out by rotating the polarization of the incoming pulse (using a half-wavelength waveplate), in parallel to scanning the delay between the pulse and its replica in an otherwise ordinary FROG apparatus. A ptychography-based phase retrieval algorithm extracts the full pulse information from the recorded spectrogram. We numerically show that this method is reliable and use it to experimentally reconstruct a pulse with intricate time-dependent polarization. We also show that this method can be used to remove time-reversal ambiguity of second harmonic generation FROG.

Improving laser standards for three-photon microscopy.

.Significance: Three-photon excitation microscopy has double-to-triple the penetration depth in biological tissue over two-photon imaging and thus has the potential to revolutionize the visualization of biological processes in vivo. However, unlike the plug-and-play operation and performance of lasers used in two-photon imaging, three-photon microscopy presents new technological challenges that require a closer look at the fidelity of laser pulses.Aim: We implemented state-of-the-art pulse measurements and developed innovative techniques for examining the performance of lasers used in three-photon microscopy. We then demonstrated how these techniques can be used to provide precise measurements of pulse shape, pulse energy, and pulse-to-pulse intensity variability, all of which ultimately impact imaging.Approach: We built inexpensive tools, e.g., a second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG-FROG) device and a deep-memory diode imaging (DMDI) apparatus to examine laser pulse fidelity.Results: First, SHG-FROG revealed very large third-order dispersion (TOD). This extent of phase distortion prevents the efficient temporal compression of laser pulses to their theoretical limit. Furthermore, TOD cannot be quantified when using a conventional method of obtaining the laser pulse duration, e.g., when using an autocorrelator. Finally, DMDI showed the effectiveness of detecting pulse-to-pulse intensity fluctuations on timescales relevant to three-photon imaging, which were otherwise not captured using conventional instruments and statistics.Conclusions: The distortion of individual laser pulses caused by TOD poses significant challenges to three-photon imaging by preventing effective compression of laser pulses and decreasing the efficiency of nonlinear excitation. Moreover, an acceptably low pulse-to-pulse amplitude variability should not be assumed. Particularly for low repetition rate laser sources used in three-photon microscopy, pulse-to-pulse variability also degrades image quality. If three-photon imaging is to become mainstream, our diagnostics may be used by laser manufacturers to improve system design and by end-users to validate the performance of their current and future imaging systems.

Single-shot reconstruction of a subpicosecond pulse from a fiber laser system via processing strongly self-phase modulated spectra

The single-shot reconstruction of an ultrashort pulse from a fiber laser system by the method based on recording and numerical processing of two self-phase modulated spectra after a nonlinear fiber is demonstrated experimentally. The 0.7-ps asymmetrical signal with an energy of ~1 μJ retrieved by this method without time direction ambiguity is in good agreement with independent measurements by second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG FROG) technique.

Ytterbium fiber-based, 270 fs, 100 W chirped pulse amplification laser system with 1 MHz repetition rate

A 100 W Yb-doped, fiber-based, femtosecond, chirped pulse amplification laser system was developed with a repetition rate of 1 MHz, corresponding to a pulse energy of 100 µJ. Large-scale, fused-silica transmission gratings were used for both the pulse stretcher and compressor, with a compression throughput efficiency of ∼85%. A pulse duration of 270 fs was measured by second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG-FROG). To the best of our knowledge, this is the shortest pulse duration ever achieved by a 100-W-level fiber chirped pulse amplification laser system at a repetition rate of few megahertz, without any special post-compression manipulation.

Pulse-shape instabilities and their measurement

Multi-shot pulse-shape measurements of trains of ultrashort pulses with unstable pulse shapes are studied. Measurement techniques considered include spectral-phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER), second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG), polarization gate FROG, and cross-correlation FROG. An analytical calculation and simulations show that SPIDER cannot see unstable pulse-shape components and only measures the coherent artifact. Further, the presence of this instability cannot be distinguished from benign misalignment effects in SPIDER. FROG methods yield a better, although necessarily rough, estimate of the pulse shape and also indicate instability by exhibiting disagreement between measured and retrieved traces. Only good agreement between measured and retrieved FROG traces or 100% SPIDER fringe visibility guarantees a stable pulse train.

Selective Excitation of Two-pulse Femtosecond Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering in a Mixture

In this paper, we experimentally study the selective excitation of two-pulse femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) in a mixture of dibromomethane (CH2Br2) and chloroform (CHCl3) by adaptive pulse shaping based on genetic algorithm. Second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG-FROG) traces indicate that the spectral amplitude and phase of the optimal pulse are both modulated. Finally, we discuss the physical mechanism for the selective excitation of femtosecond CARS based on the retrieved information from SHG-FROG traces.

Experimental Investigation on Selective Excitation of Two-Pulse Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering

Selective excitation of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering from the benzene solution is achieved by adaptive pulse shaping based on genetic algorithm, and second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG-FROG) technique is adopted to characterize the original and optimal laser pulses. The mechanism for two-pulse coherent mode-selective excitation of Raman scattering is experimentally investigated by modulating the pump pulse in the frequency domain, and it is indicated that two-pulse coherent mode-selective excitation of Raman scattering mainly depends on the effective frequency components of the pump pulse related to specific vibrational mode. The experimental results suggest that two-pulse CARS has good signal-to-background ratio and high sensitivity, and it has attractive potential applications in the complicated molecular system.

High Resolution Mode-Selective Excitation by Adaptive Femtosecond Pulse Shaping

High resolution mode-selective excitation in the mixture of C6H6 (992cm−1) and C6D6 (945 cm−1) is experimentally achieved by adaptive femtosecond pulse shaping based on the genetic algorithm (GA), and second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG-FROG) is adopted to characterize the original and optimal laser pulses, and its mechanism is experimentally validated by tailoring the frequency components of the pump pulses at the Fourier plane. It is indicated that two-pulse coherent mode-selective excitation of the Raman scattering mainly depends on the effective frequency components of the pump pulse related to specific molecular vibrational mode. The experimental results have attractive potential applications in the complicated molecular system.

Selective excitation of CARS by adaptive pulse shaping based on genetic algorithm

Selective excitation of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) from the benzene solution is experimentally demonstrated by shaping femtosecond laser pulses based on genetic algorithm. Second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG-FROG) technique is adopted to characterize the original and optimal laser pulses, and the mechanisms for the coherently selective excitation of coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) is discussed. The results show that two-pulse coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) has good signal-to-background ratio and high sensitivity, and it has attractive potential applications in the complicated molecular system, such as biomolecules and materials.

Generation of double pulses in-line by using reflective Dammann gratings

Doubled femtosecond laser pulses in-line are needed in the collinear pump-probe technique, collinear second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG FROG) and the spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER), etc. Normally, it is generated by using a Michelson's structure. In this paper, we proposed a novel structure with two-layered reflective Dammann gratings and the reflective mirrors to generate doubled femtosecond laser pulses in line without transmission optical elements. Angular dispersion and spectral spatial walk-off are both compensated. In addition, this structure can also compress the positive chirped pulse, which cannot be realized with a Michelson's structure. By adopting triangular grating and blazed gratings, the efficiency of the system would in principle be increased as the Michelson's scheme. Experiments demonstrated that this method should be an alternative approach for generation of the double compressed pulses of femtosecond laser for practical applications.

Optimal feedback control of two-photon fluorescence in Coumarin 515 based on genetic algorithm

An optimal feedback control of two-photon fluorescence in the Coumarin 515 ethanol solution excited by shaping femtosecond laser pulses based on genetic algorithm is demonstrated experimentally. The two-photon fluorescence intensity can be enhanced by ∼20%. Second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating traces indicate that the optimal laser pulses are positive chirp, which are in favor of the effective population transfer of two-photon transitions. The dependence of the two-photon fluorescence signal on the laser pulse chirp is investigated to validate the theoretical model for the effective population transfer of two-photon transitions. The experimental results appear the potential applications in nonlinear spectroscopy and molecular physics.

Measurement of femtosecond laser pulses using SHG frequency-resolved optical gating technique

We present a measurement of femtosecond laser pulses using the technique of second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) in this paper. Based on the data of the correlation signal in time and frequency domains, we obtained the detailed information on pulse shape, bandwidth, pulse duration and phase by using the retrieval algorithm program. The pulse duration is in reasonable agreement with the measurements using an interferometric autocorrelator.

Frequency-resolved optical gating measurement of ultrashort pulses passing through a high numerical aperture objective

We investigate using collinear type II second harmonic generation frequency-resolved optical gating (SHG FROG) to measure the pulse intensity and phase at the focus of high numerical aperture (NA) oil objectives. Because of the strong focusing for such objectives, it is not clear theoretically that such a measurement should work. Such objectives can produce severe distortions of the pulse as a function of radius in the objective. In addition, the standard SHG FROG algorithms are based on the assumption that the fundamental and second harmonic fields are plane waves that can be described by the paraxial approximation, and for high NA objectives, such assumptions are suspect. We show that such measurements work remarkably well. The tight focus, while a theoretical difficulty, eliminates many of the problems traditionally associated with SHG FROG including the difficulty of phase matching and walkoff of different polarizations in the crystal. Specifically, we use collinear type II SHG FROG to measure the intensity and phase at the focus of a Zeiss CP-Achromat 100x, 1.25 NA, infinity-corrected oil objective, and accurately retrieve 20 fs pulses.