Third order autocorrelation study of amplified subpicosecond laser pulses

We have used the well-known optical Kerr effect shutter method to determine the temporal width and shape of subpicosecond pulses issued from a passively mode-locked CW dye laser, feeding a three stage amplifier. This technique corresponds to a third order correlation measurement and thus yields information on the pulse profile and especially about a possible asymmetry. The accuracy of results greatly benefits from the large dynamic range that reaches 10³.