Amplification of tailored white-light continuum

The transfer of phase and amplitude modulation of the seed continuum in an optical parametric amplification process is investigated. A white-light continuum serves as the seed in non-collinear optical parametric amplification in the visible and is tailored by a liquid-crystal modulator (LCM) in a pulse shaper. The central wavelength of the output is tunable by about 75 nm with suitable LCM transmission functions. Two-color double pulses each with sub-40 fs duration are demonstrated. The relative carrier phase between the pulses is conserved during the amplification process and can be adjusted. Chirp can be imposed onto the sub-pulses. The control of the properties of the output pulses is achieved purely electronically within a few milliseconds and does not require mechanical readjustments.