Where to Buy Autocorrelators

The FSAC benchtop interferometric autocorrelator manufactured by Thorlabs is designed to characterize ultrafast pulse durations from 10 – 1,000 fs in the 650 – 1100 nm range. This autocorrelator for use with femtosecond lasers compliments our ultrafast family of lasers, amplifiers, and specialized optics, including chirped mirrors, low GDD mirrors/beamsplitters, and dispersion compensating fiber.

Our compact ultrafast autocorrelator is used to characterize ultrafast laser pulses originating from Ti:sapphire and Yb:doped lasers. Featuring a built-in two-photon absorption (TPA) detector, this autocorrelator is ideal for measuring ultrafast femtosecond and picosecond laser pulses at wavelengths from 700 to 1100 nm. The highly sensitive TPA detector allows for measurements of ultrafast laser pulses with high sensitivity by eliminating the need for angle tuning of the SHG nonlinear crystal.

The GECO and TIPA autocorrelators are designed for ultrashort pulse duration measurements in a 500 – 2000 nm spectral range. GECO is the preferred solution for daily measurements of medium- and high-repetition-rate laser systems, measuring pulse durations between 10 fs and 20 ps, intuitive use, and capability of FROG trace measurements. TIPA is explicitly designed for low-repetition-rate laser systems, enabling single-shot measurements and pulse-front tilt analysis.

APE autocorrelators are used to measure the pulse duration of femtosecond and picosecond laser systems. The technology is based on either second harmonic generation (SHG) detection or two-photon absorption (TPA) detection principle.

APE autocorrelator models:

• pulseCheck: multitalent for any task
• Mini TPA: compact and tuning-free
• Mini PD: routine tasks with a fixed wavelength range
• Carpe: first choice for multiphoton microscopy

Femto Easy offers two different types of very compact and handy autocorrelators for ultrashort pulse characterization:

• The ROC autocorrelator is a single-shot autocorrelator, thus it needs only a single pulse to measure its duration. It is very compact and extremely easy to use. It covers a wide range of pulse energies from a few hundred picojoules to a few millijoules, and durations from 5 fs to 10 ps. Also based on a single-shot architecture, the µ-ROC is the most compact autocorrelator ever built.
• The MS-ROC autocorrelator is a multi-shot autocorrelator. It uses a particularly fast optical delay line to scan the delay, minimizing the measurement time. It can measure pulses with energies as low as 50 pJ, and with its fine-scan mode for durations even below 50 fs.

The TUNDRA third-order autocorrelator serves as a highly sensitive diagnostic tool for laser pulse contrast measurements. Its dynamic range reaches up to 14 orders of magnitude, sufficient for detecting even tiniest parasitic pre- and post-pulses. The scan range is up to 3.8 ns, and pulse durations from <20 fs to 3 ps can be measured. Available wavelengths are 800 nm and 1030 nm; others can be provided on request. Using third-harmonic generation, our autocorrelator can distinguish between pre- and post-pulses.

The TUNDRA is a fully automated device, serving as an invaluable tool for state-of-the-art characterization of ultrashort laser pulses. It is designed such that ghost pre/post pulses are avoided.

Our FR-103 series autocorrelators offer wide real-time scan ranges to measure pulse durations between 5 fs and 400 ps, with high dynamic range. We offer different versions:

• FR-103XL, our general purpose autocorrelator with a scan range >200 ps
• FR-103MN: a compact version with smaller scan range (75 ps)
• FR-103HP: a compact and low-cost autocorrelator with photodetectors
• FR-103WS: a wide scan autocorrelator with an optional unprecedented 'real-time' scan range >1 ns