Temporal phase-contrast ghost imaging

Abstract

We introduce a phase-contrast ghost-imaging scheme for the characterization of temporal phase objects in terms of intensity correlations at two photodetectors. The technique is analogous to Zernike's phase-contrast imaging method and is based on utilizing a suitable filter function which renders the small-amplitude phase variations visible in the intensity correlation function. The approach is insensitive to temporal distortions and offers a promising method to analyze the phases of optical pulses.

Generation of pulse trains with nonconventional temporal correlation properties

“…First of all, from the singleshot measurement (see figure 8(c)), the temporal and spectral pulse widths of the transform-limited pulse, T and Ω, can be found. This step is not necessary for finding the correlation properties of the pulse train, since the coherence functions do not depend on either T or Ω, see equations ( 15) and (23). From the multi-shot SHG FROG spectrogram (figure 8(d)) we find G(τ, 2ω 0 ), the black dotted line in figure 8(f), which we use to find Ω p by fitting equation ( 31) on the measured curve.…”

“…In addition to spatially partially coherent fields, a large number of temporally partially coherent model pulse trains have been theoretically introduced [17][18][19][20], with several potential applications including temporal ghost imaging [21][22][23], inertial confinement fusion [24][25][26], telecommunication [27][28][29], and micro-machining [30,31], to name a few. Many of these statistically nonstationary fields have timedomain coherence properties that are quite analogous to the spatial coherence of the stationary beam fields.…”