Silicon carbide nanopowder thin-film autocorrelator for femtosecond laser pulses

We experimentally demonstrate the possibility of using second-harmonic generation in polymer films doped with silicon carbide nanocrystals for the metrology of ultrashort laser pulses within a broad spectral range. Experiments performed with frequency-tunable 110-fs pulses of an optical parametric amplifier show that a polymer film with silicon carbon nanopowder is ideally suited for the creation of cost-efficient autocorrelators, suggesting the ways to improve the time resolution and expand the frequency range of short-pulse characterization relative to a standard autocorrelator based on a 1-mm-thick BBO crystal.