Generation of Ultrashort Pulses presented by Cristian Manzoni, CNR-IFN

Abstract: In this tutorial we will explore how to generate broadband pulses by nonlinear optical process: we will start from second order nonlinear processed and discuss the main parameters which are crucial to tune their efficiency. We will then quickly review the steps required to design broadband amplifiers, and comment on some experimental implementations of these devices.

Speaker: 

Cristian Manzoni is a researcher of the Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie (IFN) of CNR (Italy) working in the field of nonlinear optics and spectroscopy. He received his Ph.D. in 2006 from Politecnico di Milano (Italy) on ultrafast laser physics. During his post-doc research at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron in Hamburg (Germany) he worked on free electron laser science. In 2009 he joined the CNR and he is an expert in the generation of ultrafast laser pulses with tunable spectrum from infrared to XUV, up to few-cycle duration, phase-stabilized and with controlled wavefront. His goal includes the development of novel methods for ultrashort pulses control and for time-resolved studies of a vast range of systems: from bio-composites to low-dimensional and strongly correlated materials. His reasearch interest extends also to time-resolved microscopy and hyperspectral imaging applied to two-dimensional crystals and for cultural heritage studies.

Characterization of Ultrashort Pulses presented by Rick Trebino, Georgia Institute of Technology

Abstract: The vast majority of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time have resulted directly from more powerful techniques for measuring light.  Indeed, our most important source of information about our universe is light, and our ability to extract information from it is limited only by our ability to measure it.  Currently, the main frontiers in light measurement are the ultrafast and ultracomplex regimes. This tutorial will introduce the most reliable techniques for measuring such light in time and also space, as well as some of the pitfalls that have plagued proposed measurement techniques in the past.

Speaker: 

Rick Trebino was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 18, 1954.  He received his B.A. from Harvard University in 1977 and his Ph.D. degree from Stanford University in 1983.  He is currently the Georgia Research Alliance-Eminent Scholar Chair of Ultrafast Optical Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, where he currently researches ultrafast optics.  He has received numerous prizes for his research.  He also recently won the SPIE’s Yzuel Award and the OSA’s Beller Medal for his pioneering contributions to optics education.  He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers.