title: Phase-coherent optical pulse synthesis from separate femtosecond lasers.
abstract: We generated a coherently synthesized optical pulse from two independent mode-locked femtosecond lasers, providing a route to extend the coherent bandwidth available for ultrafast science. The two separate lasers (one centered at 760 nanometers wavelength, the other at 810 nanometers) are tightly synchronized and phase-locked. Coherence between the two lasers is demonstrated via spectral interferometry and second-order field cross-correlation. Measurements reveal a coherently synthesized pulse that has a temporally narrower second-order autocorrelation width and that exhibits a larger amplitude than the individual laser outputs. This work represents a new and flexible approach to the synthesis of coherent light.
authors.affiliation: JILA (formerly Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and University of Colorado, Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0440, USA.
authors.forename: R K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Shelton
authors.forename: L S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kapteyn
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Murnane
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye