l.B Shaping and Measuring a Laser Pulse Using Spectral Beam Deflection

The capability to produce laser pulses of arbitrary temporal shape is important in areas of optical communication,' atomic and molecular spectroscopy~ and laserfu~ion.~ Previous pulse-shaping techniques have achievedmoderate success in these areas.44 The new approach discussed here, using the technique of spectral beam deflection (SBD), offers the potential of higher temporal resolution combined with the flexibility of beam-size variation and aperture-position variation during the pulse. SBD can produce the high-precision multinanosecond pulses required for laser fusion applications, and it is compatible with standard pulse-compression techniques for producing shaped subpicosecond pulses. Although SBD is applied here mainly to pulse shaping and beam-size shaping, it is a general technique that can be used for any application that requires laserbeam scanning for illuminating an object or for reading and writing information.