Propagation and dispersion tuning#
A retrieved field refers to a particular plane in the optical system. Applying known material and mirror dispersion moves it to another plane: back to the source through the beam-path optics, or forward through a compressor to find the glass thickness or chirped-mirror bounce count that shortens the pulse. This is post-processing of a retrieved field, distinct from including the nonlinear medium in the retrieval’s forward model.
Which page do I need?#
I want to… |
Read |
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add or remove glass, gas or a custom material |
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model chirped-mirror bounces or back-propagate coating mirrors |
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auto-tune a compressor for the shortest pulse |
Key concepts#
Dispersion is a spectral phase: a material of length \(L\) adds \(\beta(\omega)L\), its propagation constant with the group-delay term removed so the pulse stays centred, and a mirror adds its tabulated phase per bounce (and, for a coating, its reflectivity). Removing an element applies the negative phase. Taylor coefficients (GDD, TOD) describe the residual phase near the carrier; a broadband pulse may need the full material phase instead.
Main entry points#
apply_dispersion(): apply materials, Taylor terms and mirrors to a spectrum.auto_material(),auto_taylor(): optimise a compressor for peak power.register_material(),register_mirror(): add custom optical data.gas_refractive_index(): pressure- and temperature-scaled gases.
The workflow API lists the remaining functions. Continue with uncertainty, which can report an error bar at another beamline point.