Pulse Compression via Direct Measurement of Spectral Phase and Pulse-Shaping

Advancements in optical pulse-shapers grant the user arbitrary control over amplitude and phase. This control has allowed for simplified generation of the pulse pairs necessary for 2D electronic and vibrational spectroscopy. It also allows the user to correct for dispersion as pulses travel through the optical system. Dispersion causes a pulse to broaden and decrease in peak intensity, making it longer than it’s Fourier limited width and degrading signals. A common way to correct for dispersion is by applying Group Velocity Dispersion (GVD) and the Third Order Dispersion (TOD) corrections on the phase mask of the pulse-shaper. This method is fraught with difficulties. In this Letter, a new and simpler technique for pulse compression using a direct phase determination is presented, which results in a 9 percent improvement in the temporal Full Width Half Maximum.