Measurements of femtosecond pulse temporal profile by means of a Michelson interferometer with a Schottky junction

We introduce a new method for femtosecond pulse shape measurement. The interference of two pulses is employed rather than the second-harmonic generation (SHG). Usually, the measurements of the femtosecond pulse is realized by an interferometer in combination with a nonlinear optical material, while the measurement that we describe is realized by means of a Michelson interferometer with a Schottky junction. Only a metal-semiconductor junction(Schottky junction) is needed, and neither the nonlinear optical material nor a photodetector is included. The two-photon absorption arises when the light is strong enough, while there is only a one-photon absorption when the light is weak. And the calculations are in good agreement with the experimental results. In principle, the new technique could be used for the measuring of pulses with any duration and with very low power. Unlike the SHG scheme, in the new method the quality of optics, mechanics, and other elements of the scheme are not essential, and the measurement is easily realized, but the results are quite precise and very sensitive to the light