Temporal characterization of a femtosecond terawatt Ti : Sapphire laser using frequency-resolved optical gating

Abstract

A frequency-resolved optical gating technique was used to characterize pulses from a femtosecond, chirped-pulse amplification Ti:Sapphire laser. The single-shot, self-diffraction and second-harmonic generation FROG schemes were used. The laser system could be optimized in real time by monitoring the FROG trace on a charged-coupled device. The measured pulse duration was 29 fs, giving a 2-TW output power with an energy of 60 mJ.