Features

• Designed for 5–400 ps pulse duration range

• 1064 nm or 532 nm wavelength, other wavelengths by request

• Single thin nonlinear crystal (for single wavelength models)

• Background-free measurements

• Simple alignment

• LabVIEW™ based software, LabVIEW™ source code by request

Applications

Measurement of pulse duration of mode-locked or SBS-compressed solid-state lasers

Autocorrelators of AC series are designed for the measurement of pulse duration of ultrafast lasers using the non-collinear second harmonic generation technique. The incoming pulse is split into two identical copies and overlapped spatially in non-linear crystal. The intensity of the generated second harmonic wave depends on the temporal overlap of the two pulses. By scanning the delay of one of the pulses, the shape of the autocorrelation function is measured, and then the pulse duration is calculated, assuming a Gaussian or sech² incoming pulse shape.
Standard AC series models are targeted to work with mode-locked or SBS‑compressed Nd:YAG or Nd:YLF lasers at fundamental or second harmonic wavelength. A double‑wavelength model is available as well. The autocorrelator can be built to accept input wavelengths in the 420–2000 nm range on request. The scanning range can be extended from standard ±300 ps to ±1200 ps for longer pulse duration measurements or for more detailed pulse shape characterisation (for example, the measurement of salites of the main pulse).
Software supplied together with the autocorrelator allows for automated, hands-free measurement. The user can set the scanning step and range, the number of pulses averaged, and other parameters. The installed input pulse energy monitor allows the user to gate incoming pulses by their energy, making sure that laser instabilities do not influence the result.
The software requires a desktop or a laptop computer with Windows XP/Vista/7 operating system and one USB port. Please note: the computer is not supplied with the unit, and should be provided by the user.