Abstract
One of the frontiers of ultrafast optics is the generation of few-optical-cycle light pulses with reproducible electric field profile, calling for stabilization of their Carrier-Envelope Phase (CEP). Passive CEP stabilization is based on difference frequency generation (DFG) in a nonlinear crystal between two pulses sharing the same CEP; the DFG process cancels shot-to-shot CEP fluctuations [1]. This effect is also present in an Optical Parametric Amplifier (OPA), where the idler beam arises from a DFG process between pump and signal; in particular, in a noncollinear OPA (NOPA) pumped by the second harmonic (SH) of Ti:Sapphire, the idler is very broadband, but angularly dispersed due to the noncollinear geometry, making its exploitation very difficult.
© 2007 IEEE
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