Interference has long been used for precision measurement of path-length changes. Since the advent of the laser, interference has become one of the most versatile tools in metrology. Specifically, ultra-short laser pulses allow unprecedented resolution in absolute length measurements. While ultra-short laser pulses lead to high resolution, for example in white-light interferometry, they are very susceptible to dispersion. Quantum resources have been proposed to overcome some of the problems related to distortions in the interferometric signal. For example, the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interferometer relies on frequency-entangled photon pairs and features automatic even-order dispersion cancellation and high interference visibility resilient to unbalanced loss. Quantum-OCT is a technique based on HOM interferometry, that promises to overcome Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) a classical imaging technique based on low coherence light. Furthermore, straightforward modifications of the HOM interferometer can display several different interferometric signals, including the HOM peak, quantum beating, and phase super-resolution. However, the quantum resources required are hard to produce and dim, leading to long integration times and single-photon counting. In this thesis, we introduce the theory behind Chirped-Pulse Interferometry (CPI), a new technique that combines all the advantages of Q-OCT, including even-order dispersion cancellation, but without the need for any quantum resources. We then experimentally implement CPI and demonstrate all the important characteristics shared by the HOM interferometer, but at dramatically larger signal levels. We show how CPI can be used to measure dispersion cancelled axial profiles of an optical sample and show the improvement in resolution over white-light interferometry. Finally, we show that by modifying CPI in analogous ways to HOM, CPI can also be made to produce interferometric signal identical to the HOM peak, quantum beating, and phase super-resolution.

Interference has long been used for precision measurement of path-length changes. Since the advent of the laser, interference has become one of the most versatile tools in metrology. Specifically, ultra-short laser pulses allow unprecedented resolution in absolute length measurements. While ultra-short laser pulses lead to high resolution, for example in white-light interferometry, they are very susceptible to dispersion. Quantum resources have been proposed to overcome some of the problems related to distortions in the interferometric signal. For example, the Hong-Ou-Mandel (HOM) interferometer relies on frequency-entangled photon pairs and features automatic even-order dispersion cancellation and high interference visibility resilient to unbalanced loss. Quantum-OCT is a technique based on HOM interferometry, that promises to overcome Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) a classical imaging technique based on low coherence light. Furthermore, straightforward modifications of the HOM interferometer can display several different interferometric signals, including the HOM peak, quantum beating, and phase super-resolution. However, the quantum resources required are hard to produce and dim, leading to long integration times and single-photon counting. In this thesis, we introduce the theory behind Chirped-Pulse Interferometry (CPI), a new technique that combines all the advantages of Q-OCT, including even-order dispersion cancellation, but without the need for any quantum resources. We then experimentally implement CPI and demonstrate all the important characteristics shared by the HOM interferometer, but at dramatically larger signal levels. We show how CPI can be used to measure dispersion cancelled axial profiles of an optical sample and show the improvement in resolution over white-light interferometry. Finally, we show that by modifying CPI in analogous ways to HOM, CPI can also be made to produce interferometric signal identical to the HOM peak, quantum beating, and phase super-resolution.

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The purpose of this work is to study the initial value problem for coherent pulse propagation (SIT) for zero area pulses. We employ the machinery of the newly developed mathematical technique of the inverse scattering method (ISM) to deduce general rules by which one can predict the kind of output pulses for a given input pulse impinging on a resonant attenuator. This study is relevant since the area theorem cannot provide unambiguous information about zero area pulses. Thus in effect we introduce an equivalent and more general formulation to the theorem in terms of the reflection coefficient, r(ν), of the ISM. The poles of r(ν) correspond to the steady state solitary pulses called solitons. We show that the threshold for soliton generation, including breathers, is for an absolute initial area of about π, a result consistent with the predictions of the area theorem. We solve an example of an input zero area profile. We also show that if the input pulse has an odd profile with respect to time, only breathers can be expected as solitons. We demonstrate that the conservation equations are of limited use when applied to zero area pulses. They give satisfactory results only in a limited region. We compare the predictions of the conservation equations to the predictions of the ISM, and come to the conclusion that for zero area pulses, the ISM is the only known satisfactory approach.

No description available.

No description available.

This work concerns the interaction of intense, ultrashort laser pulses with fullerenes and carbon nanotubes. This includes the excitation and ionisation dynamics of gas phase fullerenes and the response of carbon nanotubes to intense ultrashort laser pulses. When ionising C60 with laser pulses of duration between 50 fs up to a few hundred fs, the ionisation mechanism has been proposed to be thermal in nature, with the electronic subsystem ‘hot’ and the vibrational system ‘cold’ at the time of ionisation. Recent results show an anisotropy in the photoelectron angular distribution which may suggest more direct mechanisms at work. Velocity-Map Imaging photoelectron spectroscopy results are presented for the ionisation of C60 and C70 at various wavelengths, pulse durations and intensities and the results are compared to theoretical models. The results are described well by a thermal ionisation mechanism in which a significant number of electrons are emitted during the laser pulse. Electrons may gain a momentum ‘kick’ from the electric field of the laser which results in an anisotropy in the photoelectron angular distributions. Peaks are observed, superimposed on the thermal background, in the photoelectron kinetic energy spectra of fullerenes ionised by ultrashort laser pulses which were previously assigned as Rydberg peaks. Photoelectron angular distributions of these peaks are presented for C60 and C70 ionised with laser pulses of various wavelengths. The binding energies and anisotropy parameters fitted to the peaks suggest that they are due to the population and one-photon ionisation of superatom molecular orbitals (SAMOs). The results rule out a direct multiphoton population mechanism for these states and show many similarities with Rydberg fingerprint spectroscopy. The fusion of carbon nanotubes has been observed under high energy electron beams and fullerene molecules have been shown to fuse together after irradiation with ultrashort laser pulses. Results are presented for experiments where fusion of carbon nanotubes with ultrashort laser pulses was attempted. Thin carbon nanotube films are analysed via Raman spectroscopy after irradiation by single laser pulses. A number of low frequency radial breathing mode peaks were observed which suggest that fusion may have taken place at certain areas of the sample.

This thesis deals with several theoretical aspects of the interaction of an intense femtosecond laser pulse with a plasma. A mechanism for the enhancement of the collisional absorption of light at high intensities is described, involving the direct excitation of collective modes of the plasma, and the importance of this mechanism for a solid-density laser-produced plasma is studied under a range of conditions. An intensity-dependent collision rate is used in a numerical calculation of the reflectivity of a steep-gradient plasma, such as might be produced by an intense femtosecond laser pulse, and the conditions required to maximize absorption at high intensities are determined. The relative contributions of field-induced ionization and collisional ionization in laser-produced plasmas are studied, and it is shown that the behaviour of a gaseous plasma is almost solely governed by the field-induced process. A model is developed to simulate the propagation of an intense femtosecond laser pulse through an initially neutral gas, and this model is used to make predictions about spectral modifications to the laser pulse. Under certain conditions the spectrum is significantly broadened and suffers an overall blue shift. Quantitative fitting of theoretical spectra to experimental results in the literature is attempted, but is complicated by associated defocusing effects in the plasma. Field-induced ionization can produce a gaseous plasma which is significantly colder, for the same degree of ionization, than a plasma produced by collisional ionization. One possible application for a cold highly-ionized plasma is in a recombination x-ray laser, and the propagation model allows the calculation of the plasma temperature, which is a crucial parameter in assessing the feasibility of such schemes.