A phase-modulation interferometer for intense, ultrashort, near infrared laser pulses
Abstract
The investigation of coherent phenomena in strong-field processes requires interferometric measurement schemes with high selectivity to disentangle the complex nonlinear response of the system. Interferometers combining acousto-optical phase modulation with lock-in detection feature excellent dynamic range and highly selective detection, thus providing a promising solution. However, acousto-optical modulators (AOMs) cause several issues when operated with intense, ultrashort, near infrared (NIR) laser pulses. The AOMs introduce temporal and angular dispersion, self-phase modulation and reduced acousto-optic efficiency at NIR wavelengths. Here, we present an acousto-optical phase modulation interferometer design that solves these issues. The presented solutions pave the way for the investigation of strong-field processes with phasemodulated interferometry and are also useful to improve the performance of phase-modulation interferometers in other applications.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2507.16299,
title = {A phase-modulation interferometer for intense, ultrashort, near infrared laser pulses},
author = {S. Ganeshamandiram and M. Niebuhr and F. Richter and U. Bangert and G. Sansone and F. Stienkemeier and L. Bruder},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2507.16299},
year = {2025}
}