Continuous scanning from picoseconds to microseconds in time resolved linear and nonlinear spectroscopy

We describe a setup of two synchronized femtosecond 1 kHz oscillator/regenerative amplifier laser systems that allows to continuously delay the amplified pulses up to 50 mus, with a jitter of less than or equal to2 ps. It can be realized by facile modification and combination of equipment that already exists in many femtosecond laser laboratories. It opens up a variety of experimental possibilities, particularly for the investigation of systems that display dynamics over a wide range of time scales, such as peptides and proteins. As an example we discuss the application of this setup for time resolved IR spectroscopy. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.