Single-shot autocorrelator based on a Babinet compensator

A compact, single-shot, second-harmonic autocorrelator for ultrashort laser pulse measurements is presented. The autocorrelator uses a Babinet compensator to split the pulse to be measured into two replicas with a relative delay between them varying across the beam. It consists of a few optical elements only, requires no sensitive alignment, and offers a robust diagnostics tool for low repetition rate femtosecond laser amplifiers. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.