Abstract

The ability to 'shape' femtosecond pulses into arbitrary ultrafast optical waveforms will profoundly expand the capabilities of optical spectroscopy (1,2). This field extends the context of spectroscopy to emphasize detailed optical control over chemical events. Demonstrations of some of these possibilities have already been reported (3-5). Recently we reported programmable generation of user-specified ultrafast waveforms with emphasis on an expanded range of possible waveforms and increased user-friendliness (6). The present discussion will describe the current developments in our lab pertaining to this rapidly expanding technology.

© 1994 Optical Society of America