# US 12,761,083 B2 · Method and device for photonic sampling of a test wave-form > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 12,761,083 B2 - Document ID: US12761083B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 18/438,678 - Filed: 2024-02-12 - Published: 2024-06-20 - Granted: 2026-10-13 - Earliest claimed: 2021-08-18 - Assignees: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Forderung der Wissenschaften e.V. - Applicants: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. - Inventors: Dmitry Zimin; Ferenc Krausz - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12761083B2 ## CPC - G01J 11/00: Measuring the characteristics of individual optical pulses or of optical pulse trains - G01J 9/04: by beating two waves of a same source but of different frequency and measuring the phase shift of the lower frequency obtained - G01J: MEASUREMENT OF INTENSITY, VELOCITY, SPECTRAL CONTENT, POLARISATION, PHASE OR PULSE CHARACTERISTICS OF INFRARED, VISIBLE OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT; COLORIMETRY; RADIATION PYROMETRY (light sources F21, H01J, H01K, H05B; investigating properties of materials by optical means G01N) ## Abstract A method for photonic sampling of a test-waveform is provided. The method includes providing a sampling light pulse and generating a local oscillator by frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse. The method further includes generating a signal wave by frequency mixing of the sampling light pulse and the test-waveform in a nonlinear optical element, wherein the frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse and the frequency mixing of the sampling light pulse and the test-waveform are selected such that the local oscillator and the signal wave are at least partly spectrally overlapping. Moreover, the method includes detecting an interference signal of the local oscillator and the signal wave for various time delays of the sampling light pulse with respect to the test-waveform. A device for sampling a test-waveform is also disclosed. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for photonic sampling of a test-waveform, the method comprising: providing a sampling light pulse; generating a local oscillator by frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse; generating a signal wave by frequency mixing of the sampling light pulse and the test-waveform in a solid nonlinear optical element, wherein the frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse and the frequency mixing of the sampling light pulse and the test-waveform are selected such that the local oscillator and the signal wave are at least partly spectrally overlapping, and wherein the frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse is carried out in the same solid nonlinear optical element as the frequency mixing of the sampling light pulse and the test-waveform; detecting an interference signal of the local oscillator and the signal wave for various time delays of the sampling light pulse with respect to the test-waveform; and determining a temporal evolution of at least one of an electric field of the test waveform and the envelope function of the test-waveform based on the detected interference signal. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more of the following harmonics of the sampling light pulse are provided by the frequency multiplication as the local oscillator: second harmonic, third harmonic, and fourth harmonic. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the signal wave is provided by at least one of the following frequency mixing processes: sum frequency generation, difference frequency generation, four wave mixing involving the sum of two photons of the sampling light pulse and one photon of the test-waveform, four wave mixing involving the difference of two photons of the sampling light pulse and one photon of the test-waveform; cross phase modulation. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the solid nonlinear optical element has a thickness of 100 μm or less. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1 wherein the solid nonlinear optical element has a thickness of more than 100 μm and is provided at an angle satisfying a phase matching condition for the test-waveform and the sampling light pulse. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the test-waveform is spectrally centered in the near-infrared or the visible spectral range and/or wherein the sampling light pulse is spectrally centered in the near-infrared or the visible spectral range. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the local oscillator and/or the signal wave are spectrally centered in the visible or ultraviolet spectral range. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising: spectrally filtering and/or polarization filtering at least the spectrally overlapping components of the local oscillator and the signal wave prior to heterodyne detection. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein test-waveform and the sampling light pulse are based on carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilized laser pulses. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein only one photon of the test-waveform is involved in generating a photon of the signal wave. ### Claim 11 A method for photonic sampling of a test-waveform, the method comprising: providing a sampling light pulse; generating a local oscillator by frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse; generating a signal wave by frequency mixing of the sampling light pulse and the test-waveform in a solid nonlinear optical element, wherein the frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse and the frequency mixing of the sampling light pulse and the test-waveform are selected such that the local oscillator and the signal wave are at least partly spectrally overlapping, wherein the nonlinear order of the wave-mixing process involved in generating the local oscillator is identical to the nonlinear order of the wave-mixing process involved in generating the signal wave; detecting an interference signal of the local oscillator and the signal wave for various time delays of the sampling light pulse with respect to the test-waveform; and determining a temporal evolution of at least one of an electric field of the test waveform and the envelope function of the test-waveform based on the detected interference signal. ### Claim 12 A device for photonic sampling of a test-waveform, the device comprising: a delay stage for varying a temporal delay of a sampling light pulse with respect to the test-waveform; a solid nonlinear optical element for generating a local oscillator by frequency multiplication of the sampling light pulse and for generating a signal wave by frequency mixing photons of the test-waveform and the sampling light pulse such that the local oscillator and the signal wave are at least partly spectrally overlapping; a heterodyne detector for detecting an interference signal of the spectrally overlapping local oscillator and the signal wave for various temporal delays of the sampling light pulse with respect to the test-waveform, wherein the device is adapted to determine a temporal evolution of at least one of an electric field of the test waveform and the envelope function of the test-waveform based on the detected interference signal. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The device according to claim 12, wherein the heterodyne detector comprises a photodetector for providing an electric signal based on the spectrally overlapping local oscillator and the signal wave interfering at the photodetector. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The device according to claim 12, further comprising: a spectral filter for spectrally filtering the spectrally overlapping components of the local oscillator and the signal wave prior to heterodyne detection; and/or a polarization filter for polarization filtering at least a part of the spectrally overlapping local oscillator and the signal wave prior to heterodyne detection. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the solid nonlinear optical element has a thickness of 10 μm or less.