High-performance single-shot fourth-order auto-correlator with real-time accuracy self-validation

Abstract

An improved single-shot fourth-order auto-correlator for temporal contrast measurement is proposed, in which spectral broadening based on self-phase modulation, followed by spectral filtering, is used for sampling pulse generation. When the input pulse energy is 5.5 mJ, the device has a measurement dynamic range of 3 × 10−11, a temporal resolution of approximately 200 fs, and a time window of 68 ps in a single shot. In addition, benefiting from the sCMOS camera data acquisition system, the measurement accuracy is self-verified using simply a tilted glass plate in the optical path of the sampling pulse. Since there is only one input beam without spatiotemporal overlap during sampling pulse generation, the setup is stable and easy to adjust.