Novel methods for the characterization and control of ultrashort laser pulses
(2026) In Lund Reports on Atomic Physics- Abstract
- The demand for real-time pulse characterization is becoming increasingly relevant due to the development of high power lasers and a growing number of applications that require precise knowledge of every laser pulse. To meet this demand, a few different single-shot dispersion-scan (d-scan) implementations have emerged over the last decade. In single-shot d-scan, the required dispersion range, i.e., the second-order spectral phase variation across the laser beam, scales quadratically with pulse duration. This imposes a limit that is difficult to overcome for longer pulses and for which a widely spread solution has not yet been found. The first part of this thesis constitutes a search for an innovative solution to the problem of extending the... (More)
- The demand for real-time pulse characterization is becoming increasingly relevant due to the development of high power lasers and a growing number of applications that require precise knowledge of every laser pulse. To meet this demand, a few different single-shot dispersion-scan (d-scan) implementations have emerged over the last decade. In single-shot d-scan, the required dispersion range, i.e., the second-order spectral phase variation across the laser beam, scales quadratically with pulse duration. This imposes a limit that is difficult to overcome for longer pulses and for which a widely spread solution has not yet been found. The first part of this thesis constitutes a search for an innovative solution to the problem of extending the dispersion range of a single-shot d-scan measurement. Two new methods have been demonstrated. The first one, using a prism of a highly dispersive material and a grating to overcome total internal reflection, represented a significant advance, but not a definitive solution to the problem. The second approach investigated offers greater potential. It involves using a grating to encode large amounts of spatially varying group delay dispersion and an imaging system to access a plane intersecting the grating. While previously mostly durations below 10 fs could be measured with single-shot d-scan, using the methods demonstrated in this thesis pulses with 25, 50 and 170 fs were characterized.
Besides their duration, controlling other properties of ultrashort laser pulses can be equally important. For example, a time-dependent polarization state is necessary for generating isolated attosecond pulses (IAPs) via high-order harmonic generation using the polarization gating technique. While this method has been known for over two decades, its implementation remains challenging, primarily due to the need to simultaneously control the field, envelope, and polarization of the driving laser pulse. The work presented in this thesis describes some of these challenges and provides new tools to address them. An extension of d-scan has been applied to the measurement of a polarization gate pulse. A birefringent delay line has proven to be an optimal solution for implementing the polarization gate in the, often unavoidable, presence of polarization-altering elements. The generation of two orthogonally polarized attosecond pulse trains using a birefringent delay line, as well as its combination with polarization gating for producing a pair of IAPs with controllable delay, has also been investigated. These results indicate the need for a greater phase control in birefringent delay lines. To address this, a new configuration that maintains a constant carrier-to-envelope phase difference as a function of delay, has been demonstrated. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/f0bbe8c4-cb8d-4b84-9244-9c9c77b4f4c4
- author
- Diaz Rivas, Daniel LU
- supervisor
-
- Cord Arnold LU
- Anne L'Huillier LU
- Anne-Lise Viotti LU
- opponent
-
- Prof. Durfee, Charles, Colorado School of Mines, USA.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-08-18
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Ultrafast optics, dispersion, diffraction grating, pulse characterization, time-dependent polarization, spectral interference, high-order harmonic generation, carrier-to-envelope phase
- in
- Lund Reports on Atomic Physics
- issue
- LRAP 629 (2026)
- pages
- 212 pages
- publisher
- Department of Physics, Lund University
- defense location
- Lecture Hall Rydbergsalen, Department of Physics, Professorsgatan 1, Faculty of Engineering LTH, Lund University, Lund.
- defense date
- 2026-09-18 09:15:00
- ISBN
- 978-91-90202-79-1
- 978-91-90202-80-7
- project
- Doctoral student - Division of Atomic Physics
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- f0bbe8c4-cb8d-4b84-9244-9c9c77b4f4c4
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-18 14:05:40
- date last changed
- 2026-08-20 13:03:30
@phdthesis{f0bbe8c4-cb8d-4b84-9244-9c9c77b4f4c4,
abstract = {{The demand for real-time pulse characterization is becoming increasingly relevant due to the development of high power lasers and a growing number of applications that require precise knowledge of every laser pulse. To meet this demand, a few different single-shot dispersion-scan (d-scan) implementations have emerged over the last decade. In single-shot d-scan, the required dispersion range, i.e., the second-order spectral phase variation across the laser beam, scales quadratically with pulse duration. This imposes a limit that is difficult to overcome for longer pulses and for which a widely spread solution has not yet been found. The first part of this thesis constitutes a search for an innovative solution to the problem of extending the dispersion range of a single-shot d-scan measurement. Two new methods have been demonstrated. The first one, using a prism of a highly dispersive material and a grating to overcome total internal reflection, represented a significant advance, but not a definitive solution to the problem. The second approach investigated offers greater potential. It involves using a grating to encode large amounts of spatially varying group delay dispersion and an imaging system to access a plane intersecting the grating. While previously mostly durations below 10 fs could be measured with single-shot d-scan, using the methods demonstrated in this thesis pulses with 25, 50 and 170 fs were characterized.<br/><br/>Besides their duration, controlling other properties of ultrashort laser pulses can be equally important. For example, a time-dependent polarization state is necessary for generating isolated attosecond pulses (IAPs) via high-order harmonic generation using the polarization gating technique. While this method has been known for over two decades, its implementation remains challenging, primarily due to the need to simultaneously control the field, envelope, and polarization of the driving laser pulse. The work presented in this thesis describes some of these challenges and provides new tools to address them. An extension of d-scan has been applied to the measurement of a polarization gate pulse. A birefringent delay line has proven to be an optimal solution for implementing the polarization gate in the, often unavoidable, presence of polarization-altering elements. The generation of two orthogonally polarized attosecond pulse trains using a birefringent delay line, as well as its combination with polarization gating for producing a pair of IAPs with controllable delay, has also been investigated. These results indicate the need for a greater phase control in birefringent delay lines. To address this, a new configuration that maintains a constant carrier-to-envelope phase difference as a function of delay, has been demonstrated.}},
author = {{Diaz Rivas, Daniel}},
isbn = {{978-91-90202-79-1}},
keywords = {{Ultrafast optics; dispersion; diffraction grating; pulse characterization; time-dependent polarization; spectral interference; high-order harmonic generation; carrier-to-envelope phase}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{08}},
number = {{LRAP 629 (2026)}},
publisher = {{Department of Physics, Lund University}},
school = {{Lund University}},
series = {{Lund Reports on Atomic Physics}},
title = {{Novel methods for the characterization and control of ultrashort laser pulses}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/258378115/e-nailing_ex_Daniel.pdf}},
year = {{2026}},
}