Remote characterization and dispersion compensation of amplified shaped femtosecond pulses using MIIPS

We report on the remote characterization and dispersion compensation ( pulse compression) of femtosecond pluses using multiphoton intrapulse interference phase scan (MIIPS). The results presented here were carried out at a distance of 28.9 m from the target. The method could be used with targets placed kilometers away. The amplified pulses arrive at the remote target within one percent of transform limit or accurately phase-shaped by user defined phase functions. From our experiment we measure the group velocity dispersion of air at 800 nm to be 20.1 +/- 1.5 fs(2)/m, which is in good agreement with published values. We consider this method for remote characterization and dispersion compensation to be an important step towards the development of reliable applications requiring the propagation of ultrashort pulses to remote targets. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America