In situ temporal measurement of ultrashort laser pulses at full power during high-intensity laser–matter interactions

Abstract

In laser-matter interaction experiments, it is of paramount importance to characterize the laser pulse on target (in situ) and at full power. This allows pulse optimization and meaningful comparison with theory, and it can shed fundamental new light on pulse distortions occurring in or on the target.Here we introduce and demonstrate a new technique based on dispersion-scan using the concurrent third harmonic emission from the target that permits the full (amplitude and phase), in situ, in-parallel characterization of ultrashort laser pulses in a gas or solid target over a very wide intensity range encompassing the 1013-1015Wcm-2regime of high harmonic generation and other important strong-field phenomena, with possible extension to relativistic intensities presently inaccessible to other diagnostics. © 2020 OSA - The Optical Society. All rights reserved.