Concepts for the temporal characterization of short optical pulses

Abstract

Methods for the characterization of the time-dependent electric field of short optical pulses are reviewed. The representation of these pulses in terms of correlation functions and time-frequency distributions is discussed, and the strategies for their characterization are explained using these representations. Examples of the experimental implementations of the concepts of spectrography, interferometry, and tomography for the characterization of pulses in the optical telecommunications environment are presented. © 2005 Hindawi Publishing Corporation.