Frequency-resolved optical gating for characterization of VUV pulses using ultrafast plasma mirror switching

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a method for characterizing vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) pulses based on time-resolved reflection spectroscopy of fused silica pumped by an intense laser pulse. Plasma mirror reflection is used as an ultrafast optical switch, which enables us to measure frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG) traces. The VUV temporal waveform can be retrieved from the measured FROG trace using principal component generalized projections algorithm with modification. The temporal profile of the plasma mirror reflectivity is also extracted simultaneously. (C)2015 Optical Society of America