Eur. Phys. J. Special Topics 223, 1175-1180 (2014)
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2014-02170-6

Regular Article

Spatially-uniform temporal recompression of intense femtosecond optical pulses

¹ Institute of Applied Physics Russian Academy of Sciences, 46 Ul'yanov Street, 603950 Nizhni Novgorod, Russia
² Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Centre Énergie Matériaux Télécommunications 1650, boulevard Lionel-Boulet, Varennes (Québec) J3X 1S2, Canada
³ IZEST, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France
⁴ University of Nizhni Novgorod, 23 Prospekt Gagarina, 603950 Nizhni Novgorod, Russia

^a e-mail: Sergey.Mironov@mail.ru

Received: 13 March 2014
Revised: 24 March 2014
Published online: 4 June 2014

Abstract

A specially designed telescope with defocusing lens and off-axis parabolic mirror, which is working as a nonlinear element and producing self-phase modulation, was implemented for intense (3.1 TW/cm²) Fourier Transform Limit femtosecond laser pulses with Gaussian beam profiles. The pulse spectrum was broadened quasi- homogeneously over the beam cross-section due to the change in the lens thickness compensating for the reduction of the beam intensity from its center to periphery. In experimental demonstrations a set of chirped mirrors allowed for the spectral phase correction to a final pulse compression of 20 fs from 40 fs.