Synthesis of picosecond pulses by spectral compression and shaping of femtosecond pulses in engineered quadratic nonlinear media

International audienceNarrow-bandwidth picosecond pulses of predetermined spectral and temporal shape are generated with high efficiency by frequency conversion of femtosecond pulses in lithium tantalate crystals with engineered quasi-phase-matching structures. We give examples of the synthesis of gaussian and supergaussian picosecond pulses and also of a pair of synchronized phase-coherent picosecond pulses with a given carrier-frequency difference