Programmable phase and amplitude femtosecond pulse shaping.
TL;DR: This work reports programmable femtosecond pulseshaping using two commercially avaliable liquid crystal spatial light modulators (SLM) that allows generation of waveforms with arbitrary temporal phase and amplitude profiles within a 2.9 picosecond time window with features of less than 100 femToseconds.
Abstract: We report programmable femtosecond pulseshaping using two commercially avaliable liquid crystal spatial light modulators (SLM). This allows generation of waveforms with arbitrary temporal phase and amplitude profiles within a 2.9 picosecond time window with features of less than 100 femtoseconds. Such waveforms suggest exciting prospects for the control of chemical behaviour.
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TL;DR: In this article, the field of femtosecond pulse shaping is reviewed, and applications of pulse shaping to optical communications, biomedical optical imaging, high power laser amplifiers, quantum control, and laser-electron beam interactions are reviewed.
Abstract: We review the field of femtosecond pulse shaping, in which Fourier synthesis methods are used to generate nearly arbitrarily shaped ultrafast optical wave forms according to user specification. An emphasis is placed on programmable pulse shaping methods based on the use of spatial light modulators. After outlining the fundamental principles of pulse shaping, we then present a detailed discussion of pulse shaping using several different types of spatial light modulators. Finally, new research directions in pulse shaping, and applications of pulse shaping to optical communications, biomedical optical imaging, high power laser amplifiers, quantum control, and laser-electron beam interactions are reviewed.
2,051 citations
TL;DR: Fundamental theoretical ideas in nanoplasmonics are reviewed and selected experimental developments are reviewed, including fundamentals, nanolocalization of optical energy and hot spots, ultrafast nanoplAsmonics and control of the spatiotemporal Nanolocalized fields.
Abstract: A review of nanoplasmonics is given. This includes fundamentals, nanolocalization of optical energy and hot spots, ultrafast nanoplasmonics and control of the spatiotemporal nanolocalization of optical fields, and quantum nanoplasmonics (spaser and gain-assisted plasmonics). This article reviews both fundamental theoretical ideas in nanoplasmonics and selected experimental developments. It is designed both for specialists in the field and general physics readership.
1,054 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed an active and passive pulse shaping method based on phase-only filtering and an alternate Fourier synthesis pulse shaping technique, as well as additional passive and active pulse shaping methods.
482 citations
TL;DR: This work presents a new category of optical CDMA systems which work based on spectral encoding, that the authors refer to as frequency-encoded CDMA (FE-CDMA) systems, which are based on encoding noncoherent broadband sources.
Abstract: Presents a new category of optical CDMA systems which work based on spectral encoding. In such systems, that the authors refer to as frequency-encoded CDMA (FE-CDMA) systems, the coding is done in the frequency domain while in the usual CDMA systems the code multiplies the modulation signal in the time domain. They present a new type of FE-CDMA system, based on encoding noncoherent broadband sources. They discuss the advantages of the system compared to other optical CDMA systems and present its performance. They show that very efficient, low-cost, CDMA systems can be obtained with an aggregate throughput of many gigabits per second. Also, for this system, the spreading gain of CDMA is independent of the modulation bandwidth. Hence, the system can accommodate variable bit rates, naturally. >
416 citations
TL;DR: This review presents a summary of some of the most salient contributions to the field of coherent laser control from an experimentalist's perspective and highlights the fact thatSome of the highest resolution spectroscopic measurements being carried out employ femtosecond laser pulses.
Abstract: The observation of coherent dynamics ensuing from the excitation of molecular systems by femtosecond laser pulses is at the heart of femtochemistry. The time-dependent evolution of coherent superpositions of quantum states, the physical basis for the observation of coherent dynamics and their manipulation are of central importance to coherent control of physicochemical processes. In the early days of femtochemistry, there was significant skepticism regarding the type of information that could be learned from spectroscopic experiments using very short pulses. There were arguments that one could infer the dynamics from frequency-resolved experiments and that the femtosecond experiments did not offer new information. It was also assumed that experiments with very short pulses would smear the available spectroscopic information because of their broad bandwidths. Approximately two decades after the initial experiments, it has become clear that femtosecond experiments have opened an extremely valuable window into the dynamic behavior of atomic and molecular systems that is influencing how we think about physics, chemistry, and biology. In particular, we highlight the fact that some of the highest resolution spectroscopic measurements being carried out employ femtosecond laser pulses. These experiments, specifically those taking advantage of rotational coherence, provide resolution that rivals microwave spectroscopy. The reason spectroscopic information is not lost in femtochemistry experiments is coherence, a property that can be manipulated to control physicochemical processes by a number of different approaches, which will be reviewed here. This review presents a summary of some of the most salient contributions to the field of coherent laser control from an experimentalist’s perspective. While a number of theoretical papers have made key contributions to the field, it is from the experimental successes, as well as failures, that we can best learn how to implement new strategies and develop future applications. Coherent laser control, in the context of this review, encompasses experiments in which the coherent properties of the laser and/or the molecule are required for controlling a particular physicochemical process. We distinguish for each of the experiments between coherence in the laser field(s), * To whom correspondence should be addressed. Phone (517) 3559715 (ext-315). Fax (517) 353-1793. E-mail dantus@msu.edu. 1813 Chem. Rev. 2004, 104, 1813−1859
338 citations
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TL;DR: Current experimental and theoretical progress toward the goal of controlling quantum dynamics is summarized and the introduction of engineering control concepts has put the required theoretical framework on a rigorous foundation.
Abstract: Current experimental and theoretical progress toward the goal of controlling quantum dynamics is summarized. Two key developments have now revitalized the field. First, appropriate ultrafast laser pulse shaping capabilities have only recently become practical. Second, the introduction of engineering control concepts has put the required theoretical framework on a rigorous foundation. Extrapolations to determine what is realistically possible are presented.
878 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a telescope is placed between two grating compressors in order to modify the phase shift for different wavelengths of different wavelengths, and the telescope simultaneously provides high magnification to compensate more than 90 km of standard monomode fibers in the 1.6 μm region, yielding compression factors as high as 3000.
Abstract: A compressor is designed that presents an opposite sign of the dispersion to that of standard two grating compressors. This is achieved by placing a telescope between gratings in order to modify in an adequate manner the phase shift for different wavelengths. The telescope simultaneously provides a high magnification in order to compensate more than 90 km of standard monomode fibers in the 1.6 μm region, yielding compression factors as high as 3000. Analytical expressions for Gaussian beams are found and limitations due to lateral spectral walkoff and telescope pupils are discussed.
646 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the synthesis of arbitrarily shaped femtosecond pulses by spectral filtering in a temporally nondispersive grating apparatus is demonstrated by utilizing spatially patterned masks to modify the amplitude and the phase of the optical frequency components that are spatially dispersed within the apparatus.
Abstract: The synthesis of arbitrarily shaped femtosecond pulses by spectral filtering in a temporally nondispersive grating apparatus is demonstrated. Spectral filtering is accomplished by utilizing spatially patterned masks to modify the amplitude and the phase of the optical frequency components that are spatially dispersed within the apparatus. We are able to pattern spectra over a large dynamic range (approaching 104) and with unprecedented resolution. We illustrate the power of this technique by synthesizing a number of femtosecond waveforms, including femtosecond tone bursts with terahertz repetition rates, picosecond square pulses with 100-fsec rise times, and highly complex pseudonoise bursts produced by spectral phase encoding.
597 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a 128-element liquid crystal modulator is used to manipulate the phases of optical frequency components which are spatially dispersed within a grating-and-lens pulse shaping apparatus.
Abstract: Programmable shaping of femtosecond pulses by using a 128-element liquid crystal modulator to manipulate the phases of optical frequency components which are spatially dispersed within a grating-and-lens pulse shaping apparatus is described. This apparatus makes possible gray-level control of the spectral phases and allows modification of the pulse shape on a millisecond time scale under electronic control. Refinements in the design of the multielement modulator result in pulse shaping fidelity comparable to that which can be achieved with microlithographically fabricated masks. Several examples of pulse shaping operation, including pulse position modulation, programmable pulse compression, and adjustable cubic phase distortion, are described. >
485 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the frequency-resolved optical gating (FOSG) technique was introduced for measuring the intensity and phase of an arbitrary ultrashort pulse using an instantaneous nonlinear-optical interaction of two variably delayed replicas.
Abstract: We introduce a new technique, frequency-resolved optical gating, for measuring the intensity I(t) and the phase ϕ(t) of an individual arbitrary ultrashort pulse. Using an instantaneous nonlinear-optical interaction of two variably delayed replicas of the pulse, frequency-resolved optical gating involves measuring the spectrum of the signal pulse versus relative delay. The resulting trace, a spectrogram, yields an intuitive full-information display of the pulse. Inversion of this trace to obtain the pulse intensity and phase is equivalent to the well-known two-dimensional phase-retrieval problem and thus yields essentially unambiguous results for I(t) and ϕ(t).
484 citations