Stray light autocorrelation for the measurement of ultrashort laser pulses

Ultrashort laser pulses in the femtosecond range are of growing interest in medicine and micro material processing for industrial applications. The most interesting parameter is the pulse duration, which can only be measured by optical autocorrelation methods incorporating an optically nonlinear medium. Established methods mostly use monocrystalline beta barium borate (BBO) in transmission, exhibiting a high nonlinear conversion efficiency. However, this material is brittle, expensive and sophisticated in adjustment due to the necessary non-collinear phase matching. Since fiber-based high energy femtosecond laser systems become more and more achievable, the conversion efficiency of the nonlinear medium should no longer be seen as the restricting factor. Therefore, this research work discusses the suitability of several nonlinear media with differing translucency. Quartz, ammonium dihydrogen phosphate (ADP) and aluminum nitride (AlN) were compared in a standard autocorrelation setup and a novel versatile setup measuring frequency-doubled stray light. Best results were achieved with AlN, which appears to be a suitable and promising alternative material to BBO, reducing the expenses by two to three orders of magnitude.