Femtosecond Techniques for Materials Scientists

The tutorial starts at a basic level, so everyone starts out on solid ground, but then quickly advances to state-of-the-art femtosecond techniques. The first part of the tutorial deals with the interaction of light with matter and, after refreshing some basic concepts of electromagnetism, moves on to nonlinear optical processes that are relevant for the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses. The second part deals with measurement techniques. Part of the tutorial will be taught in an interactive format. That is to say, the participants will work through a number of problems in small groups using worksheets that are designed to elicit common misconceptions and that lead the participants to the right approach. The subjects for which worksheets will be used are marked by an asterisk in the outline given below. 1. Linear and nonlinear propagation of light (1h 30 mins) a. Propagation of electromagnetic waves in dense media b. Dielectric function c. Lorentz equations, Drude model d. Pulse dispersion c. Nonlinear response f. Second harmonic generation and inversion symmetry (*) g. Self phase modulation and self focusing h. Continuum generation 2. Femtosecond measurements (2h 30 mins) a. Pump-probe technique b. Dispersion compensation techniques (*) c. Representation of pulses; Wigner representation d. Temporal characterization of pulses e. Joint time-frequency measurements (*) f. Frequency-resolved optical gating g. Limits of frequency and time resolution (*)