Single-shot optical sampling oscilloscope for ultrafast optical waveforms

We present an all-optical technique for measuring single-shot optical pulse phenomena using a feed-forward pulse replicator and a compact, nonlinear loop mirror called the terahertz optical asymmetric demultiplexer (TOAD). By exploiting the fast nonlinearity of a semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) placed asymmetrically within the loop, a sampling window on the order of a few picoseconds can be used to detect features in low-energy (