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Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams

Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams
Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams

The use of structured ultrashort pulses with coupled spatiotemporal properties is emerging as a key tool for ultrafast manipulation. Ultrafast vector beams are opening exciting opportunities in different fields such as microscopy, time-resolved imaging, nonlinear optics, particle acceleration or attosecond science. Here, we implement a technique for the full characterization of structured time-dependent polarization light waveforms with spatiotemporal resolution, using a compact twofold spectral interferometer, based on in-line bulk interferometry and fibre-optic coupler assisted interferometry. We measure structured infrared femtosecond vector beams, including radially polarized beams and complex-shaped beams exhibiting both temporal and spatial evolving polarization. Our measurements confirm that light waveforms with polarization evolving at the micrometer and femtosecond scales can be achieved through the use of structured waveplates and polarization gates. This new scale of measurement achieved will open the way to predict, check and optimize applications of structured vector beams at the femtosecond and micrometer scales.

2399-3650
Alonso, Benjamín
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Lopez-Quintas, Ignacio
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Holgado, Warein
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Drevinskas, Rokas
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Kazansky, Peter G.
a5d123ec-8ea8-408c-8963-4a6d921fd76c
Hernández-García, Carlos
bcb29488-6791-4d5a-a4f3-eed970912b9b
Sola, Íñigo J.
bb534c34-98f6-421b-9dce-68ccc26d2f84
Alonso, Benjamín
74fe4d70-f1da-41d2-80b9-0031f5641660
Lopez-Quintas, Ignacio
f8951c4e-f969-497d-bce5-195e035bf1bf
Holgado, Warein
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Drevinskas, Rokas
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Kazansky, Peter G.
a5d123ec-8ea8-408c-8963-4a6d921fd76c
Hernández-García, Carlos
bcb29488-6791-4d5a-a4f3-eed970912b9b
Sola, Íñigo J.
bb534c34-98f6-421b-9dce-68ccc26d2f84

Alonso, Benjamín, Lopez-Quintas, Ignacio, Holgado, Warein, Drevinskas, Rokas, Kazansky, Peter G., Hernández-García, Carlos and Sola, Íñigo J. (2020) Complete spatiotemporal and polarization characterization of ultrafast vector beams. Communications Physics, 3 (1), [151]. (doi:10.1038/s42005-020-00419-w).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The use of structured ultrashort pulses with coupled spatiotemporal properties is emerging as a key tool for ultrafast manipulation. Ultrafast vector beams are opening exciting opportunities in different fields such as microscopy, time-resolved imaging, nonlinear optics, particle acceleration or attosecond science. Here, we implement a technique for the full characterization of structured time-dependent polarization light waveforms with spatiotemporal resolution, using a compact twofold spectral interferometer, based on in-line bulk interferometry and fibre-optic coupler assisted interferometry. We measure structured infrared femtosecond vector beams, including radially polarized beams and complex-shaped beams exhibiting both temporal and spatial evolving polarization. Our measurements confirm that light waveforms with polarization evolving at the micrometer and femtosecond scales can be achieved through the use of structured waveplates and polarization gates. This new scale of measurement achieved will open the way to predict, check and optimize applications of structured vector beams at the femtosecond and micrometer scales.

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s42005-020-00419-w - Version of Record
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 7 August 2020
e-pub ahead of print date: 31 August 2020
Additional Information: Funding Information: We acknowledge support of ERC project ENIGMA. This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 851201). We acknowledge funding from Junta de Castilla y León (SA287P18), cofunded by the FEDER Funds, and from Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (FIS2016-75652-P, FIS2017-87970-R, EQC2018-004117-P). C.H.G. acknowledges support from Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades for a Ramón y Cajal contract (RYC-2017-22745), cofunded by the European Social Fund, and support from Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (PID2019-106910GB-I00). B.A. acknowledges funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship grant agreement No. 798264. P.G.K.

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 481408
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/481408
ISSN: 2399-3650
PURE UUID: f89c468f-22ef-419d-bd22-667f80ebb242

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Date deposited: 25 Aug 2023 16:55
Last modified: 05 Jun 2024 18:02

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Contributors

Author: Benjamín Alonso
Author: Ignacio Lopez-Quintas
Author: Warein Holgado
Author: Rokas Drevinskas
Author: Peter G. Kazansky
Author: Carlos Hernández-García
Author: Íñigo J. Sola

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