A laser system for generating self-starting few cycle laser pulses or widely tunable laser pulses is provided. The laser system includes a modelocked pump source that provides a pulsed pump signal. A gain medium receives the pulsed pump signal. A resonator structure includes the gain
The phase spectrum of an ultrashort pulse is measured based on two-dimensional spectral shearing interferometry with zero delay. The measurement is performed utilizing an optical source pulse from which is extracted a short pulse and from which a chirped component is generated. The c