Picosecond measurements by free-running electro-optic sampling

Timing jitter in passively mode-locked lasers is an important limit in electro-optic measurements. We demonstrate picosecond resolution electro-optic sampling measurements in the presence of nanosecond-scale timing jitter. Timing-jitter distortion is eliminated by scanning at a large offset frequency and triggering on the resulting waveform. Frequency jitter and the effects of triggering on a noisy signal are analyzed. Using this method, 1.5 ps fall times are measured on electronically generated shock waveforms.<
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