Welcome to our group web page. Our main research interests revolve around the crafting and manipulation of ultrafast optical waveforms. This work is based on a space-time analogy between the equations that describe the natural spreading of optical beams (diffraction) and the natural broadening of pulses in dielectrics (dispersion). We have shown that by combining dispersion with quadratic phase modulation (we call them "time lenses") we can create systems that alter the time scale of optical waveforms. Since this is directly analogous to imaging in space, we call it "temporal imaging." Temporal images have the same envelope shape as the original waveforms but are either stretched or compressed in time. Having recently demonstrated some of the basic principles on the picosecond time scale, we are now building up several experiments on the femtosecond scale. One of our goals to is build a time microscope with 25 femtoseconds of resolution. This will be useful for magnifying ultrafast optical waveforms to a time scale where it can be conveniently viewed on standard instruments.

In addition, we have several other exciting research projects. We are currently building a THz pulse spectroscopy system for analyzing THz electromagnetic field propagation and interaction in various materials. We are also studying phase and amplitude noise in femtosecond laser systems with unprecedented dynamic range and sensitivity. If these areas sound interesting to you, please explore our web page at your leisure. If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to contact me.

Thank you for your interest. -Brian H. Kolner