Shaper-based dispersion scan for the characterization of polarization-shaped laser fields

Abstract

We present a pulse-shaper-based dispersion-scan (d-scan) framework for the combined generation and characterization of polarization-tailored femtosecond laser fields. By integrating a programmable $4f$ pulse shaper with polarization-resolved d-scan measurements, the framework enables the programmable synthesis and reconstruction of complex time-dependent polarization states. We demonstrate its capabilities for several classes of vector fields, including counter-rotating circularly polarized pulse pairs, oppositely chirped counter-rotating circularly polarized pulses, polarization-gate pulses, and multi-pulse sequences utilizing polynomial, periodic and discrete spectral phase functions. The reconstructed temporal electric fields and time-dependent ellipticities show excellent agreement with the simulated target fields and accurately reproduce the defining features of each pulse class. By combining the versatility of programmable pulse shaping with the robustness of the d-scan technique, this approach provides a flexible platform for the generation and validation of polarization-tailored ultrashort laser fields in ultrafast photonics and light-matter interaction studies.