High-frame-rate observation of single femtosecond laser pulse propagation in fused silica using an echelon and optical polarigraphy technique.

We have demonstrated high-frame-rate observations of a single femtosecond laser pulse propagating in transparent medium using the optical polarigraphy technique and an echelon. The echelon produced a spatially encoded time delay for the probe pulse to capture directly four successive images of an intense propagating pulse with picosecond time interval and femtosecond time resolution. Using this method, we observed the propagation process of a single femtosecond laser pulse in fused silica. The influence of pulse-energy fluctuation on the spatial and temporal distribution of the single laser pulse was visualized using the single-shot measurements.