title: Spectral compression of femtosecond pulses using chirped volume Bragg gratings.
abstract: In this Letter, we demonstrate a 360 fold spectral bandwidth reduction of femtosecond laser pulses using the method of sum frequency generation of pulses with opposite chirps. The reduction has been achieved in a compact setup in which a single chirped volume Bragg grating replaces conventional stretcher and compressor units. Starting with 180 fs pulses, we have obtained, with a 30% overall efficiency, pulses longer than 100 ps with the spectral bandwidth of 0.23  cm-1(7 GHz). We also discuss our method on theoretical grounds.
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nejbauer
authors.forename: Tomasz M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Kardaś
authors.forename: Yuriy
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Stepanenko
authors.forename: Czesław
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Radzewicz