Abstract

We will describe the latest developments in computer controlled femtosecond pulse-shaping. The use of shaped ultrashort waveforms has already yielded new experimental results.¹ Application of programmable femtosecond waveforms for optical control of molecular behaviour has been treated theoretically.² The technique involves linear filtering of the spatially dispersed frequency components of an ultrashort pulse. Recollimation of the dispersed beam yields a waveform ‘shaped’ in the time domain. The present results expand on the pioneering works by Weiner, Heritage, and coworkers at Bellcore^3,4 who first demonstrated femtosecond pulse-shaping using these methods.

© 1993 Optical Society of America