Simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing of vortex and vector beams (Conference Presentation)

Alex Wilhelm; David Schmidt; Chloe Keefer; Randy Lemons; Charles Durfee

doi:10.1117/12.2510745

13 March 2019 Simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing of vortex and vector beams (Conference Presentation)

Alex Wilhelm, David Schmidt, Chloe Keefer, Randy Lemons, Charles Durfee

Proceedings Volume 10904, Laser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XXI; 109041J (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510745
Event: SPIE LASE, 2019, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

In simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing (SSTF) a wide bandwidth pulse with transverse spatial chirp is focused, resulting in a pulse that is temporally compressed only near the focal plane. The pulse also has a pulse front tilt angle that depends on the amount of initial transverse chirp. In this work, we explore computationally and experimentally the properties of SSTF vortex and vector beams. To analyze the beam propagation, we build on the concept that a spatially chirped beam is a superposition of Gaussian beams with a position or angle that depends on frequency. We extend this to superpositions of Hermite-Gauss high-order modes to describe the singular beams. At focus, the beams of the ultrashort pulses are tilted versions of the familiar doughnut beams. Away from focus, however, where the spectral components do not fully overlap, we find that vortex and vector beams result in strikingly different mapping of the singularity mapping in the spatio-temporal domain. The use of higher-order modes increases the focal spot size without reducing the already short SSTF depth of focus. Experimentally, we use spiral phase plates to produce vortex beams and a linear to radial polarization converter for the vector beams. The vector beam is not distorted by the polarization-insensitive transmission gratings. The spatial chirp compressor is improved over our previous work to vary the chirp positive and negative. The sensitivity of the singular beam focus to grating misalignment can actually be used to optimize the compressor alignment.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Alex Wilhelm, David Schmidt, Chloe Keefer, Randy Lemons, and Charles Durfee "Simultaneous spatial and temporal focusing of vortex and vector beams (Conference Presentation)", Proc. SPIE 10904, Laser Resonators, Microresonators, and Beam Control XXI, 109041J (13 March 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2510745

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KEYWORDS

Superposition

Beam analyzers

Beam propagation method

Gaussian beams

Polarization

Spiral phase plates

Ultrafast phenomena

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