Phase Diversity Electro-optic Sampling: A new approach to single-shot terahertz waveform recording

THz spectroscopy is an emerging tool for detection of microorganisms and harmful compounds in the food industry, the study of proteins in biomedicine and the development of electron-beam X-ray sources for molecular imaging and lithography. Recording of THz electric field evolution in single-shot is crucially needed in terahertz spectroscopy of irreversible processes in such applications as well as for data communication in the THz portion of the spectrum where there is an abundance of untapped bandwidth. However, achieving sub-picosecond resolution over a long time window has been an open problem for electro-optic sampling -- the standard technique for recording terahertz waveforms. We introduce a new conceptual framework for this open problem that is inspired by time-stretch theory. The novel framework unveils a solution to this 20 year-old problem leading to a dramatic enhancement of the achievable temporal resolution. We validate this new technology in two applications. First, we present single shot recordings of long free-propagating terahertz transients with record time resolution. Second, we present recordings of ultra-short relativistic electron bunches at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser. These results show that electric signals may be now recorded with terahertz bandwidth over arbitrarily long windows, thus enabling the realization of "single-shot terahertz oscilloscopes" and single-shot time-domain spectroscopy systems with an arbitrary time-bandwidth product

From self-organization in relativistic electron bunches to coherent synchrotron light: observation using a photonic time-stretch digitizer

In recent and future synchrotron radiation facilities, relativistic electron bunches with increasingly high charge density are needed for producing brilliant light at various wavelengths, from X-rays to terahertz. In such conditions, interaction of electrons bunches with their own emitted electromagnetic fields leads to instabilities and spontaneous formation of complex spatial structures. Understanding these instabilities is therefore key in most electron accelerators. However, investigations suffer from the lack of non-destructive recording tools for electron bunch shapes. In storage rings, most studies thus focus on the resulting emitted radiation. Here, we present measurements of the electric field in the immediate vicinity of the electron bunch in a storage ring, over many turns. For recording the ultrafast electric field, we designed a photonic time-stretch analog-to-digital converter with terasamples/second acquisition rate. We could thus observe the predicted link between spontaneous pattern formation and giant bursts of coherent synchrotron radiation in a storage ring.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Dynamique de sources sur accélérateur (contrôle de structures turbulentes dans les lasers à électrons libres et étude du rayonnement synchrotron cohérent induit par laser)

Nous présentons dans cette thèse deux études liées à la dynamique de sources sur accélérateur. La première étude concerne le contrôle de structures turbulentes apparaissant dans des lasers à électrons libres (LEL), et plus généralement dans les systèmes spatio-temporels soumis à une dérive. Dans ces systèmes, lorsque la dérive devient trop importante, des structures induites par du bruit apparaissent, et rendent le système instable. Nous montrons qu'une simple rétroaction avec un décalage spatial permet de rendre le régime régulier. Un fait remarquable est que le gain nécessaire à la stabilisation'' est extrêmement faible, 10 puissance - 8 pour l'expérience sur le LEL de UVSOR au Japon.La deuxième étude traite du rayonnement synchrotron cohérent (CSR) induit par laser dans un anneau de stockage. Nous montrons dans un premier temps qu'en imprimant un motif périodique dans l'espace des phases du paquet d'électrons avec une impulsion laser externe, il est possible d'obtenir un rayonnement synchrotron cohérent, étroit spectralement, et accordable dans le domaine térahertz. Un rayonnement crête jusqu'à 10 000 fois supérieur au rayonnement classique (incohérent) a été mesuré à UVSOR. Dans un deuxième temps, nous montrons que cette interaction laser/électrons permet d'obtenir des informations sur l'instabilité CSR, instabilité qui apparaît lorsque la densité du paquet d'électrons dépasse une valeur seuil. En particulier, nous montrons expérimentalement, par l'observation de précurseurs, que l'instabilité naît à partir de l'amplification de certaines longueurs d'ondes.In this thesis, we present two studies on the dynamics of accelerator-based sources.The first study concerns the control of turbulent patterns'' which appear in some free electron lasers (FEL), and more generally in spatio-temporal systems submitted to a permanent drift. Large drift velocities typically lead to a particular type of instability, characterized by the appearance of noise sustained structures. We show that this type of turbulent behavior can be suppressed by adding a non-local additive feedback. As a remarkable fact, the gain needed for the stabilization'' can be extremely small, 10 power -8 for the experiments performed on the UVSOR-II FEL in Japan.The second study is devoted to laser-induced coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) in a storage ring. In a first step, we show that it is possible to imprint a periodic pattern in the electron bunch phase-space using an external laser. This allow to obtain a tunable coherent emission (CSR) in the terahertz range. Terahertz pulse energy larger by a factor 1000-10 000 with respect to normal (incoherent) synchrotron radiation were thus measured at UVSOR-II. In a second step, we show that this laser-electron beam interaction allows to obtain new information on the CSR instability, which appears when the electron bunch density exceeds a threshold value. In particular, we show experimentally, with the observation of instability precursors, that the instability arises from the amplification of some characteristic wavenumbers.LILLE1-Bib. Electronique (590099901) / SudocSudocFranceF

Acoustical and Optical Branches in the "spectral Waves" of a Laser

The longitudinally multimode class-B laser with inhomogeneous broadening is known to behave as a chain of coupled oscillators, each being associated to one mode. If emission occurs along the two eigenstates of polarization, we show theoretically and experimentally that the waves propagating in the spectrum are characterized by two dispersion curves associated to oscillations in phase and in opposite phase of two close modes with di#erent polarizations. These curves may be viewed as the analogs of the "acoustical" and "optical" branches in one-dimensional diatomic crystals. 42.55.-f, 03.40.Kf Typeset using REVT E X Multimode lasers have recently received much attention, as they represent prototypes of high-dimensional systems. The success in the investigations of their dynamics mostly stems from two reasons. The first one is the very slow characteristic time-scale of class-B lasers, which allows deep experimental studies. A n-modes laser is typically the analog of a set of n coupled..

Effets du bruit et d'un flot transverse sur les instabilités spatio-temporelles dans un système optique à cristaux liquides

La formation spontanée de structures spatiales est un phénomène universel qui s'observe dans de nombreux domaines scientifiques (ridules sur le sable, stries dans les nuages, rayures du zèbre...). Ce travail, à la fois théorique, numérique et expérimental, est une contribution à l'étude de ces instabilités en optique. Il s' appuie sur un système composé d'un cristal liquide soumis à un pompage laser aller-retour. Les effets non triviaux du bruit sur la formation des structures sont d'abord étudiés. Nous montrons par exemple la présence de précurseurs induits par le bruit, anticipant sous le seuil certaines propriétés des structures apparaissant au seuil. Ensuite, nous analysons les effets d'une dérive sur la formation des structures. Celle-ci entraîne l'apparition d'une nouvelle instabilité (convective) donnant lieu à de nouveaux types de structures entretenues par le bruit. Leurs propriétés, leurs domaines d'existence ainsi que leurs combinaisons sont étudiées.LILLE1-BU (590092102) / SudocSudocFranceF

Suppression of self-pulsing instabilities in free-electron lasers using delayed optical feedback

We show that the macropulse instability affecting storage ring free-electron laser (FEL) oscillators can be suppressed using a delayed optical feedback. The principle, known as coherent photon seeding, consists in reinjecting a very small part of the laser output in the laser cavity in order to create a new deterministic solution. The feedback is shown to be efficient over a large range of the detuning parameter of the FEL cavity, even with very small fractions of reinjected power (<10^{-8} here from inside to inside the cavity). The experiments have been performed on the UVSOR-II storage ring free-electron laser

Phase Diversity Electro-Optic Sampling: A New Approach to Single-Shot Terahertz Waveform Recording

Recording electric field evolution in single-shot with THz bandwidth is needed in science including spectroscopy, plasmas, biology, chemistry, Free-Electron Lasers, accelerators, and material inspection. However, the potential application range depends on the possibility to achieve sub-picosecond resolution over a long time window, which is a largely open problem for single-shot techniques. To solve this problem, we present a new conceptual approach for the so-called spectral decoding technique, where a chirped laser pulse interacts with a THz signal in a Pockels crystal, and is analyzed using a grating optical spectrum analyzer. By borrowing mathematical concepts from photonic time stretch theory and radio-frequency communication, we deduce a novel dual-output electro-optic sampling system, for which the input THz signal can be numerically retrieved—with unprecedented resolution—using the so-called phase diversity technique. We show numerically and experimentally that this approach enables the recording of THz waveforms in single-shot over much longer durations and/or higher bandwidth than previous spectral decoding techniques. We present and test the proposed DEOS (Diversity Electro-Optic Sampling) design for recording 1.5 THz bandwidth THz pulses, over 20 ps duration, in single-shot. Then we demonstrate the potential of DEOS in accelerator physics by recording, in two successive shots, the shape of 200 fs RMS relativistic electron bunches at European X-FEL, over 10 ps recording windows. The designs presented here can be used directly for accelerator diagnostics, characterization of THz sources, and single-shot Time-Domain Spectroscopy

Electro-Optical Bunch Length Detection at the European XFEL

The electro-optical bunch length detection system based on electro-optic spectral decoding has been installed and is being commissioned at the European XFEL. The system is capable of recording individual longitudinal bunch profiles with sub-picosecond resolution at a bunch repetition rate of 1.13MHz . Bunch lengths and arrival times of entire bunch trains with single-bunch resolution have been measured as well as jitter and drifts for consecutive bunch trains. In addition, we are testing a second electro-optical detection strategy, the so-called photonic time-stretching, which consists of imprinting the electric field of the bunch onto a chirped laser pulse, and then 'stretching' the output pulse by optical means. As a result, we obtain is a slowed down 'optical replica' of the bunch shape, which can be recorded using a photodiode and GHz-range acquisition. These tests are performed in parallel with the existing spectral decoding technique based on a spectrometer in order to allow a comparative study. In this paper, we present first results for both detection strategies from electron bunches after the second bunch compressor of the European XFEL