A phase-modulation interferometer for intense, ultrashort, near infrared laser pulses

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel phase-modulation interferometer design optimized for intense, ultrashort near-infrared laser pulses, overcoming limitations of traditional acousto-optical modulators and enabling advanced studies of strong-field phenomena.

Contribution

The paper presents a new interferometer design that mitigates dispersion and efficiency issues in acousto-optical modulation at NIR wavelengths, enhancing strong-field process measurements.

Findings

Successfully reduces temporal and angular dispersion effects.

Improves acousto-optic efficiency at NIR wavelengths.

Enables high-selectivity interferometric measurements of strong-field phenomena.

Abstract

The investigation of coherent phenomena in strong-field processes requires interferometric measurement schemes with high selectivity to disentangle the complex nonlinear response of the system. Interferometers combining acousto-optical phase modulation with lock-in detection feature excellent dynamic range and highly selective detection, thus providing a promising solution. However, acousto-optical modulators (AOMs) cause several issues when operated with intense, ultrashort, near infrared (NIR) laser pulses. The AOMs introduce temporal and angular dispersion, self-phase modulation and reduced acousto-optic efficiency at NIR wavelengths. Here, we present an acousto-optical phase modulation interferometer design that solves these issues. The presented solutions pave the way for the investigation of strong-field processes with phasemodulated interferometry and are also useful to improve the performance of phase-modulation interferometers in other applications.