Sensitive ultrashort pulse chirp measurement.

The chirp of an ultrashort laser pulse can be extracted with high accuracy from a modified spectrum auto-interferometric correlation waveform by using a new time domain algorithm that allows signal averaging. We display results revealing high sensitivity to chirp even with signal-to-noise levels approaching unity. Correction algorithms have been developed to accommodate signal distortion arising from bandwidth limitations, interferometer misalignment, and nonquadratic detector response.