Measurement of the statistical properties of a train of ultrashort optical pulses

Summary from only given. All ultrashort pulse characterization techniques are based on the assumption that a single pulse field underlies the measurement. Complete characterization of a train of pulses requires the specification of the statistical properties of the train, before an assessment can be made as to whether the assumption of identical pulses is valid. One approach is to characterize a large set of pulses from a train one at a time, and to determine the statistics from this set. Spectral phase interferometry for direct electric reconstruction (SPIDER) is based on a one-dimensional interferogram and a direct algebraic reconstruction algorithm, making it by far the fastest pulse characterization technique up to now. This allows the retrieval of the electric field of a large number of pulses so that a statistical analysis can be undertaken.