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The Space-Charge Problem in Ultrafast Diagnostics : An All-Optical Solution for Streak Cameras

Kornienko, Vassily LU ; Bao, Yupan LU ; Bood, Joakim LU ; Ehn, Andreas LU and Kristensson, Elias LU (2024) In Ultrafast Science 4.
Abstract

The field of ultrafast science is dependent on either ultrashort laser pulse technology or ultrafast passive detection. While there exists a plethora of sub-picosecond laser pulse solutions, streak cameras are singular in providing sub-picosecond passive imaging capabilities. Therefore, their use in fields ranging from medicine to physics is prevalent. Streak cameras attain such temporal resolutions by converting signal photons to electrons. However, the Coulomb repulsion force spreads these electrons spatiotemporally aggravating streak cameras’ temporal resolution and dynamic range—an effect that increases in severity in ultrafast applications where electrons are generated nearly instantaneously. While many electro-optical solutions... (More)

The field of ultrafast science is dependent on either ultrashort laser pulse technology or ultrafast passive detection. While there exists a plethora of sub-picosecond laser pulse solutions, streak cameras are singular in providing sub-picosecond passive imaging capabilities. Therefore, their use in fields ranging from medicine to physics is prevalent. Streak cameras attain such temporal resolutions by converting signal photons to electrons. However, the Coulomb repulsion force spreads these electrons spatiotemporally aggravating streak cameras’ temporal resolution and dynamic range—an effect that increases in severity in ultrafast applications where electrons are generated nearly instantaneously. While many electro-optical solutions have been proposed and successfully implemented, this issue remains as a challenge for all subpicosecond streak camera technology. Instead of resorting to electro-optical solutions, in this work, we present an all-optical approach based on the combination of photon tagging and spatial lock-in detection with a technique called periodic shadowing—that is directly applicable to all generations of streak cameras. We have demonstrated that this accessible all-optical solution, consisting of a single externally applied optical component, results in (a) a >3× improvement in dynamic range, (b) a 25% increase in temporal resolution, and (c) a reduction of background noise levels by a factor of 50, which, when combined, allows for a markedly improved accuracy in the measurement of ultrafast signals.

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Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Ultrafast Science
volume
4
article number
005
publisher
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85186104319
ISSN
2097-0331
DOI
10.34133/ultrafastscience.0055
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
46e7e767-327c-473c-b988-ed3e6d36346c
date added to LUP
2024-03-19 14:04:11
date last changed
2024-03-19 14:05:31
@article{46e7e767-327c-473c-b988-ed3e6d36346c,
  abstract     = {{<p>The field of ultrafast science is dependent on either ultrashort laser pulse technology or ultrafast passive detection. While there exists a plethora of sub-picosecond laser pulse solutions, streak cameras are singular in providing sub-picosecond passive imaging capabilities. Therefore, their use in fields ranging from medicine to physics is prevalent. Streak cameras attain such temporal resolutions by converting signal photons to electrons. However, the Coulomb repulsion force spreads these electrons spatiotemporally aggravating streak cameras’ temporal resolution and dynamic range—an effect that increases in severity in ultrafast applications where electrons are generated nearly instantaneously. While many electro-optical solutions have been proposed and successfully implemented, this issue remains as a challenge for all subpicosecond streak camera technology. Instead of resorting to electro-optical solutions, in this work, we present an all-optical approach based on the combination of photon tagging and spatial lock-in detection with a technique called periodic shadowing—that is directly applicable to all generations of streak cameras. We have demonstrated that this accessible all-optical solution, consisting of a single externally applied optical component, results in (a) a &gt;3× improvement in dynamic range, (b) a 25% increase in temporal resolution, and (c) a reduction of background noise levels by a factor of 50, which, when combined, allows for a markedly improved accuracy in the measurement of ultrafast signals.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kornienko, Vassily and Bao, Yupan and Bood, Joakim and Ehn, Andreas and Kristensson, Elias}},
  issn         = {{2097-0331}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)}},
  series       = {{Ultrafast Science}},
  title        = {{The Space-Charge Problem in Ultrafast Diagnostics : An All-Optical Solution for Streak Cameras}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.34133/ultrafastscience.0055}},
  doi          = {{10.34133/ultrafastscience.0055}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}