BOC and TCBOC
(Two Color) Balanced Optical Cross Correlator
APPLICATIONS
- Precise synchronization of the repetition rates of two optical pulse trains, at same or different wavelengths
- Precise synchronization of the repetition rate of an ultrafast laser to the output of a stabilized fiber link
- Compensation of jitter, introduced by amplifiers in a laser amplifier chain or in similar setups
- Measurement of jitter and drift between two synchronized lasers or two optical beam paths from the same source
- Measurement of optical path length fluctuations (e.g. caused by temp. changes)
BENEFITS
- More than 10 mV/fs sensitivity
- Lower than 0.5 fs noise floor
- Down to 10 fs RMS timing jitter and timing drift
SAMPLE SYNCHRONIZATION SETUPS
A TCBOC synchronizes the pulse trains of two ultrafast lasers at different wavelengths. Two options of the TCBOC is being offered:
- Measurement device (MD): standalone TCBOC
- Synchronization device (SD): standalone TCBOC equipped with feedback and control electronics, including a pre-locker.
SPECIFICATIONS
Parameters
Value
Unit
Comment
Detector sensitivity
> 10
mV / fs
at the detector output (not amplified)
Detector resolution
< 0.5
fs
integrated detector noise floor within 10 kHz bandwidth
Timing Jitter1
< 15
fs
within 35 μHz - 1 MHz bandwidth, depending on noise characteristics of master/reference laser and performance of slave laser intracavity actuators
Dimensions (H x W x L)
300 x 270 x 66
mm
Weight
5
kg
depending on options
Requirements
Optical input wavelength
<2000
nm
tailored for the wavelengths of interest
Optical input power
10 - 50
mW
depending on wavelength range and other laser parameters
Optical input type
PM Fiber
FC or SC connector (free space input optional)
Pulse repetition rate
< 10
GHz
tailored for the repetition rate of interest
Control unit for SD version (Synchronization Device)
Dimensions
rack mountable, 19 inch width, 4 height units
Integrated feedback
included
optimized PID parameters
Control system
interface
included
available in Epics, Tango…
Auto lock
included
1when operated in an environment with maximum 0.5 K temperature and 3 % relative humidity deviation. Please note that the timing jitter between the lasers must be lower than the target precision above the locking bandwidth.
MEASUREMENT DATA
Out-of-loop timing jitter (left) and timing drift (right – 2 Hz sampling) of an 800-nm Ti:Sapphire laser locked to an optical reference using a TCBOC2: