Generation of Frequency-Chirped Pulses in the Far-Infrared by Means of a Subpicosecond Free-Electron Laser and an External Pulse Shaper

The generation of frequency-chirped optical pulses in the far-infrared is reported. The pulses are produced by the free-electron laser FELIX. The chirp is induced by means of an external shaping device consisting of a grating and a telescope. The shaper is based on reflective optics to permit operation in a wide spectral range. The present experiments were made at 8.2 mu m wavelength. The fwhm duration of the incident pulse was 0.50 ps, which corresponds to a bandwidth of 2.2%. It has been checked that a linear chirp is produced, for the case that the frequency increases from the leading edge of the pulse to the trailing edge, as well as for the reverse case. This is accompanied by an increase of the fwhm pulse duration which ranges up to 16.5 ps.