Characterizing ultrashort laser pulses with second harmonic dispersion scans

The dispersion scan (d-scan) technique has emerged as a simple-to-implement characterization method for ultra-short laser pulses. D-scan traces are intuitive to interpret and retrieval algorithms that are both fast and robust have been developed to obtain the spectral phase and the temporal pulse profile. Here, we shortly review the second harmonic generation d-scan technique, focusing predominantly on results obtained at the Lund Laser Centre. We describe and compare recent implementations for the characterization of few- and multi-cycle pulses as well as two different approaches for recording d-scan traces in a single shot, thus showing the versatility of the technique. (C) 2021 Optical Society of America

Automated summary

The dispersion scan (d-scan) technique is a simple-to-implement method for characterizing ultra-short laser pulses, with intuitive and easy-to-interpret traces and fast, robust retrieval algorithms. This review focuses on the second harmonic generation d-scan technique and compares recent implementations, demonstrating the versatility of the technique.