Jannik Ehlert Characterization Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating
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Frequency-resolved optical gating for broadband pulse characterization Jannik Ehlert Supervisors: Prof. dr. ir. Roel Baets, Prof. Valdas Pasiskevicius (KTH) Master's dissertation submitted in order to obtain the academic degree of European Master of Science in Photonics Department of Information Technology Chair: Prof. dr. ir. Bart Dhoedt Faculty of Engineering and Architecture Academic year 2016-2017 Frequency-resolved optical gating for broadband pulse characterization Jannik Ehlert Supervisors: Prof. dr. ir. Roel Baets, Prof. Valdas Pasiskevicius (KTH) Master's dissertation submitted in order to obtain the academic degree of European Master of Science in Photonics Department of Information Technology Chair: Prof. dr. ir. Bart Dhoedt Faculty of Engineering and Architecture Academic year 2016-2017 Foreword This thesis worth 30 credit points in the field of photonics is my final piece inthe puzzle of my Master’s studies. It describes the experimental work of building a pulse characterization setup at KTH – Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The Laser physics group of KTH has been my main reason to spend the second year of my Master’s studies in Sweden. Before starting lessons at KTH, I had been loaded with a good basis of theoretical knowledge from one semester each at both Ghent University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel. When starting the experimental work I first felt I was limited in apply- ing my knowledge and did not know when to ask once I was stuck, but step by step I could broaden my skills in many areas and feel very satisfied with the result. Therefore, I would like to thank several individuals and groups who have helped and supported me along the way. First of all, I would like to thank Prof. Valdas Pasiskevicius and Prof. Fredrik Laurell for their excellent guidance during the last months. I also appreciate very much my two supervisors in the Laser Physics group Anne-Lise Viotti and Robert Lindberg, both PhD students who helped me in an excellently complementing way. I am grateful for all discussions within and outside the laboratory environment with everyone in the Laser Physics group, not only during Swedish “fika” time. In par- ticular I would like to mention my office mates Xionghua Zheng and Luigi Fregnani for the compelling exchanging experiences. I’m glad Hoon Jang helped me tweaking the titanium-sapphire laser and Andrius Žukauskas with regard to crystal characterization and crystal poling. Charlotte Liljestrand provided me with useful tips and material, while I also benefited from Lars-Gunnar Andersson’s support with presenting the concept of FROG in Swedish. i I am very grateful to my parents, my brother, my grandparents, and the rest of the family for their outstanding moral support. A special role of my friends had Elias Ridha, whom I so greatly thank for moral and social support through regular talks during the whole process. Last, but not least, I would like to thank my sponsors. Via the Erasmus+ program and supported by my study scholarship of the Heinrich Böll foundation, I could fully focus on lasers. Jannik F. Ehlert Stockholm (Sweden) August 2017 ii Permission loan Toelating tot bruikleen De auteur geeft de toelating dit afstudeerwerk voor consultatie beschikbaar te stellen en delen van het afstudeerwerk te copieren voor persoonlijk gebruik. Elk ander gebruik valt onder de beperkingen van het auteursrecht, in het bijzonder met be- trekking tot de verplichting de bron uitdrukkelijk te vermelden bij het aanhalen van resultaten uit dit afstudeerwerk. Jannik F. Ehlert, augustus 2017 Permission for usage The author gives his permission to make this work available for consultation and to copy part of the work for personal use. Any other use is bound to the restriction of copyright legislation, in particular regarding the obligation to specify the source when using results of this work. Jannik F. Ehlert, August 2017 iii Frequency-resolved optical gating for broadband pulse characterization by Jannik Ehlert Master dissertation submitted in order to obtain the academic degree of European Master of Science in Photonics Academic year 2016-2017 Faculty of Engineering and Architecture – Ghent University Department of Information Technology, Chair: Prof. dr. ir. Bart Dhoedt Promoters: Prof. Valdas Pasiskevicius (KTH), Prof. dr. ir. Roel Baets (UGent) Supervisors: Anne-Lise Viotti (KTH), Robert Lindberg (KTH) Summary of the work In this thesis, the process of building a setup to characterize ultrashort laser pulses is described. This characterization includes shape, duration and phase of the pulse. The method used for this purpose is frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG). In a first approach, three KTiOPO4 (KTP) crystals are examined for a single-shot FROG setup, in a geometry called GRENOUILLE making use of Čerenkov second harmonic generation. While Čerenkov sum frequency radiation can successfully be generated, the trace shows some faulty structure indicating a non-optimal domain wall within the KTP crystal. For further characterization, the setup is changed into a multi-shot FROG setup in which a beta barium borate crystal is introduced. This setup is tested and demonstrates its functionality via characterization of about 100 fs-pulses by a mode locked titanium-sapphire laser. Keywords characterization of short pulses, ultrafast nonlinear optics, FROG, Čerenkov second harmonic generation, KTiOPO4 (KTP) Frequency-resolved optical gating for broadband pulse characterization Jannik Ehlert Supervisors: Anne-Lise Viotti (KTH), Robert Lindberg (KTH), Prof. Valdas Pasiskevicius (KTH), Prof. dr. ir. Roel Baets (UGent) 2222 Rick Trebino and Erik ZeekZeek (a)(a) 1.01.0 ........ 0 0 Abstract—This article assesses the process of building a setup 0.70.7 , , - - IntensityIntensity ,IQ ........ v ,IQ 0.6 ........ v inst -c 0.6 inst -c :::r to characterize ultrashort laser pulses. It first shows how the ::i ::i . - - Phase -10-10 :::r ., >.>. 0.5 . - - Phase ., 00 0.5 (l) 0.0 c \ (l) method of frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) is used with 1:J 0.0 cQ) \ '" '" 1:J Q) 0.40.4 ]i]i ::I::I \ \ -20-20 iil iil 4 "-"- -0.5 C"C" 0.3 S a KTiOPO (KTP) nonlinear crystal. Additionally, the produced -0.5 !!!!!! 0.3 \ \ S "-"- ˇ ˇ 0.20.2 \ \ Cerenkov second harmonic and Cerenkov sum frequency ra- -1.0-1.0 -30-30 diation are also examined. The necessary changes needed for -40-40 -20-20 00 2020 40 -40-40 -20-20 00 2020 4040 TimeTime (Is)(Is) TimeTime (Is) (Is) a multi-shot FROG based on a beta barium borate (BBO) (a) 30 (b) 3030 are then described. 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