We present direct measurements of the spatiotemporal electric field of an ultrashort Bessel-X pulse generated using a conical lens (axicon). These measurements were made using the linear-optical interferometric technique SEA TADPOLE, which has micrometer spatial resolution and femtosecond temporal resolution. From our measurements, both the superluminal velocity of the Bessel pulse and the propagation invariance of the central spot are apparent. We verified our measurements with simulations.
We measure the spatiotemporal field of ultrashort pulses with complex spatiotemporal profiles using the linear-optical, interferometric pulse-measurement technique SEA TADPOLE. Accelerating and decelerating ultrashort, localized, nonspreading Bessel-X wavepackets were generated from a approximately 27 fs duration Ti:Sapphire oscillator pulse using a combination of an axicon and a convex or concave lens. The wavefields are measured with approximately 5 microm spatial and approximately 15 fs temporal resolutions. Our experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical calculations and numerical simulations.
We present measurements of the impulse response of a circular phase diffraction grating in dependence of the field point location behind it. These measurements were carried out using a white-light spectral interferometry set-up, which employs photonic crystal fibers in both the signal and reference arms, and achieves a few micron spatial and almost one-wave-cycle temporal resolution. Our study shows that the grating as a simple and robust single-element optical device (i) suppresses the material-induced spread of ultrashort pulses, (ii) thereby generates the Airy-Bessel light bullets, and (iii) enables temporal focusing of the pulses at the prescribed propagation depth.
Using a recently developed technique (SEA TADPOLE) for easily measuring the complete spatiotemporal electric field of light pulses with micrometer spatial and femtosecond temporal resolution, we directly demonstrate the formation of theo-called boundary diffraction wave and Arago's spot after an aperture, as well as the superluminal propagation of the spot. Our spatiotemporally resolved measurements beautifully confirm the time-domain treatment of diffraction. Also they prove very useful for modern physical optics, especially in micro- and meso-optics, and also significantly aid in the understanding of diffraction phenomena in general.
The complete spatiotemporal characterization of the diffracted field of ultrashort pulses after passing through circularly symmetric binary phase diffraction gratings is carried out. The complex field is registered at different planes behind the gratings with an ultrashort-pulse measurement technique called SEA TADPOLE. Numerical simulations based on scalar diffraction theory are compared with the measurements.
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