SPIDER characterization of sub-6-fs pulses in the visible

Summary form only given. Recently, we demonstrated the use of mirror-only dispersion compensation schemes for noncollinear optical parametric amplifiers (OPAs), covering a spectral bandwidth of about 200 THz. To support this enormous bandwidth, we used double-chirped mirrors (DCMs), which provide dispersion compensation and high reflectivity from 510 nm to 720 nm. Pulses with less than 6 fs duration are easily reproducible on a day-today basis without any compressor adjustment. The DCM compressor therefore considerably simplifies the use of the OPA for spectroscopy experiments with extreme time resolution.We provide a full characterization of the OPA pulses based on spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER). The extension of this technique to the visible spectral range using ultrabroadband pulses is not straightforward and requires careful design of the setup.