Jitter-free subpicosecond streak cameras (invited)

Abstract

We review here our recent work on a high dynamic range, subpicosecond x-ray streak camera. Our subpicosecond streak camera (PX1) has been coupled to a 10 Hz Ti: sapphire laser system and tested with 500 fs UV light pulses (266 nm) in jitter-free accumulation mode. A novel design for the photoconductive switches that are coupled to the camera’s deflection plates has been successfully used to eliminate the jitter induced by the laser intensity fluctuations and by the temporal shape of the laser beam. Results demonstrate that this detection system gives simultaneously a high dynamic range and a subpicosecond resolution at a repetition rate of 10 Hz.