Femtosecond optical Kerr gate with double gate pulses: Simulation and experiment

We demonstrated an improved optical Kerr gate with double gate pulses (D-OKG) to realize an ultrashort switching time even with a slow-response optical Kerr medium. A theoretical model of D-OKG was established and the dependence of the D-OKG performance on the relative intensity and the relative delay time of the two gate pulses was investigated. An integrated optimal condition was predicted. The D-OKG was experimentally built and optimized according to the simulation. The dependence of the D-OKG performance on the two gate pulses was confirmed. In our experiment, the achieved values for transmittance and switching time were 45 % and 150 fs, respectively. Compared to the conventional OKG, the D-OKG owns an integrated optimal performance in the femtosecond regime, and has the potential for a wide range of ultrafast optical switch applications.