Selecting the proper optic for an ultrafast application is key to the success of your experiment. Standard, general purpose optics may not be the best choice for ultrafast. For example, the larger material thickness of lenses and dielectric coatings of mirrors will induce dispersion and interference effects that will be detrimental to the ultrashort pulses. Newport has analyzed these effects and has introduced a comprehensive set of optics specially designed for Ultrashort pulse applications.

Selecting an Ultrafast Mirror

Standard dielectric mirror coatings can cause significant dispersive effects for ultrashort pulses, such as those produced by Ti:Sapphire lasers. The dispersion of the material and the interference effects between coating layers result in phase variations at specific wavelengths. Since the group delay is related to the slope of the phase variation, these wavelength regions introduce significant GDD errors that can broaden and distort your pulse. Therefore, for applications that require steering ultrashort pulses, we suggest using our Ultrafast Mirror Selection Guide below.

For more information about selecting ultrafast optics, please see our Ultrafast Laser Optics white paper about balancing costs with successful outcomes.

	Series	Typical Performance	Diameter (mm)	Mirror Surface	GDD, Cubic Term
	FemtoOptics Femtosecond Optimized Silver Mirrors	R>99% @ 600-1000 nm R >97% @ 470-1000 nm	25.4 & 50.8	Flat	Inexpensive option for very low GDD(1)
	FemtoOptics Femtosecond Optimized Concave Mirrors	R>99% @ 600-1000 nm R>97% @ 470-1000 nm	25.4 (EFL 50-1500 mm)	Concave	Near zero GDD over extended bandwidth
	FemtoOptics Chirped Mirror Matched Pair	R>99.5% @ 700-890 nm	25.4	Flat	-45 fsec2 at 800 nm
	FemtoOptics High Reflector Harmonic Mirrors	R>99% @ 400 or 267 nm	25.4	Flat	Near zero GDD within specified wavelength range
	Low GDD Broadband Mirror for Ultrashort Pulses	R>99% @ 700-930 nm	12.7, 25.4 & 50.8	Flat	Near Zero GDD through wavelength range
	Low GDD Concave Mirror for Ultrafast Pulses	R>99% @ 700-930 nm	25.4 & 50.8 (EFL 50-1000mm)	Concave	Near zero GDD through wavelength range
	Chirped Mirrors for Ultrashort Pulses	RP>99.8% @ 700-900 nm	25.0	Flat	Negative GDD up to -140 fsec2 With near zero cubic term
	Standard Broadband Turning Mirrors for Ultrashort Pulses	R>99.6% @ 680–1060 nm	25.4 & 50.8	Flat	High Reflectance with neutral GDD and cubic term
	High Performance Ultrafast Broadband Turning Mirrors	R>99.6% @ 670-1340 nm	25.4	Flat	Optimized for neutral GDD across bandwidth of Insight® Laser
	Ytterbium Doped Laser Mirrors	R>99.5% @ 520 & 1040 nm	25.4	Flat	Designed for low GDD for Spirit® One™ Laser

(1) Mirror also useable for wavelengths outside standard Ti:Sapphire range. Please contact us for any customized shapes or special requirements.

Ultrafast Lenses, Beamsplitters, Waveplates and Polarizers

Beam sampling, beam splitting, focusing or polarization changes can be done with our specially designed optics for Ultrashort pulses listed below. Special considerations have been made to ensure that pulse dispersion will be minimized.

	Series	Performance	Diameter/Size (mm)	Shape	Key Feature
	FemtoOptics Ultrathin Windows	AR coating R<0.4% @ 620-980 nm	12.7, 25.4 & 30	Round Flat	Ultrathin thickness allows for fine tuning of positive GDD
	FemtoOptics P-Polarized Beamsplitters	R=67%, 76%, 80% or 90% @ 800 nm	25.4	Round Flat	Minimum GDD for beam splitting of intense pulses down to 25 fs or less
	FemtoOptics Wedges	Optional AR coating R<0.5% @ 650-1040 nm	20 x 30 & 20 x 50	Rectangular Wedge	Dispersion fine tuning over a wide dynamic range
	UF Optimized AR Coated Fused Silica Plano-Convex Lenses	R<1% @ 660-1380 nm R≤2.5% @ 640-1500 nm	12.7 & 25.4	Round	Custom coating provides optimal antireflection across broad wavelength range with minimal dispersion
	Beam Sampler for Ultrashort Pulses	Ravg<0.75%  @ 45° AOI, 660-1000 nm	25.4	Round Flat	Ultra-thin substrate produces minimal dispersion
	Beamsplitters for Ultrashort Pulses	Rs=50 ±5 % @ 700-950 or 680-1080 nm	25.4, 50.8	Round Flat	Large bandwidth with low dispersion
	Pellicle Beamsplitters	Ultra-thin, light weight beamsplitter @ 375-2400 nm	51.6 mm clear aperture	Round Flat	Near zero dispersion
	Ultrafast Laser Harmonic Beamsplitters	RS>99.8% @ 400 nm Ts>95% @ 800 nm	25.4	Round Flat	3 mm thick substrate, low dispersion
	Brewster Angle Dispersing Prisms for Ultrashort Pulses	Optimized for 185-2100 or 370-2000 nm	15.0 & 25.0	Triangular Prism	UV Fused Silica, LaKL21 or SF10 materials to optimize dispersion compensation
	Achromatic Zero-Order Quartz-MgF2 Waveplates	Retardation Accuracy from ±λ/50 to ±λ/100	25.4	Flat, air-spaced	Quartz and MgF2 offer wide wavelength range
	Glan-Laser Calcite Polarizers	Extinction ratio>100,000:1	25.0 with 1.063-20 thd	Air spaced optics	Air-spaced for high laser damage resistance
	Thin Film Polarizers For Ultrashort Pulses	TP, avg >96%, RS, avg >80% @ 700-950 nm TP, avg > 95%, RS, avg > 99% @ 785-815 nm	14.3 x 28.6	Flat, Rectangular	AOI of 70° ±2°
	Broadband Hollow Retroreflectors	1, 2, or 5 arc sec parallelism	25.4 & 63.5 aperture	Round	Total wavefront distortion ≤ λ/3

Recommended Opto-Mechanical Mounts & Breadboards

	Opto-Mechanical Mount Series		Breadboard Series
	Optical Delay Line Mirror Mount		Solid Aluminum Breadboards
	SUPREMA Series Precision Stainless Steel Mirror Mounts		PG Series Optical Breadboards, Precision Grade

Optical Delay Line Components Kits

Pre-selected optics and opto-mechanical components are offered at a discount in our Optical Delay Line Components Kits for building delay lines of single, dual or quadruple pass. (Note that Motorized Linear Translation Stages and Motion Controllers are sold separately.)