Measurement of laser pulse lengths in the range 0.2–50 ps

A new instrument consisting of an autocorrelator and a recording device is capable of rapid analysis of pulse lengths over the range 0.2–50 ps. The operation of this instrument is described. The autocorrelator determines the autocorrelation function of ultrashort laser pulses from the noncollinear generation of the second harmonic of the light under study. The recording device records the spatial distribution of the light with the help of a linear charge-coupled-device array.