| Picosecond scale, single-transient waveforms have become commonplace in telecommunications, high energy density physics, and ultrafast chemistry. Unfortunately, no commercially available technology can record single-shot waveforms with picosecond resolution across hundreds of picoseconds at high dynamic range (~10,000:1). In a conventional streak camera, a signal-carrying electron beam is swept across an array of detectors. Space-charge effects limit dynamic range at high temporal resolution. Deflecting a beam of uncharged photons overcomes this issue. However, ultrafast optical beam deflection over many resolvable spots has remained challenging. We demonstrate a novel optical beam deflection technique where an optical pump temporarily creates an array of prisms that deflect an optical signal beam within a GaAs/AlGaAs planar waveguide. The fabricated device yielded the fastest sustained optical deflection reported to date, and was used to create spatial representations of ultrafast temporal waveforms. A conventional camera was then used to record single-shot waveforms with 2.5 ps resolution over a 100 ps record with a dynamic range in excess of 3000:1. Through further development, this all-optical streak camera could provide insight into previously unmeasurable phenomena in many fields. |
