Interferometric autocorrelation in the ultraviolet utilizing spontaneous parametric down-conversion inside an enhancement cavity

Opt Lett. 2012 Apr 1;37(7):1223-5. doi: 10.1364/OL.37.001223.

Abstract

Autocorrelation is a common method to estimate the duration of ultrashort laser pulses. In the ultraviolet (UV) regime it is challenging to employ the process of second-harmonic generation, most prominently due to absorption in nonlinear crystals at very short wavelengths. Here we show how to utilize spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) to generate an autocorrelation signal in the infrared (IR) for UV pulses. Our method utilizes the nth-order emission of the SPDC process, which occurs for low pumping powers proportional to the nth power of the UV intensity. Thus, counting 2n down-converted photons directly yields the nth-order autocorrelation. The method, now with detection of near-IR photons, is applied to the first direct measurement of ultrashort UV pulses circulating inside a UV enhancement cavity.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Infrared Rays
  • Interferometry / methods
  • Lasers*
  • Photons*
  • Ultraviolet Rays*