Characterization of self-phase modulated ultrashort optical pulses by spectral phase interferometry

0740-3224; We present the procedure for measuring self-phase modulation of ultrashort laser pulses focused in gases by use of the spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER) technique. We tested the device, which employs a noncollinear type I frequency mixing scheme, by measuring the phase induced by group-velocity dispersion either in a piece of glass or in the compressor of the laser system. Both results were validated by comparison with the expected values. The phase that resulted from self-phase modulation in H2 gas or atmospheric air was then measured and compared with calculations based on a Gaussian beam assumption. A new estimate of the nonlinear …