The TRPL setup can explore the ultrafast dynamics of optical devices at speeds much greater than conventional spectrum analysers, on the order of picoseconds. The key to this is the streak camera, which provides a temporal and spectral profile of the light pulse, by converting the pulse into a stream of electrons, which is then deflected by a time-varying electric field. Thus the temporal structure of the pulse is converted into a spatial distribution, or ‘streak’, pattern on the detector.

View equipment using this technology.