Spectral and Temporal Properties of Femtosecond White-Light Continuum Generated in H₂O

The temporal behaviour and spectral distribution of white-light continuum generation in H₂O using a focused intense 800 nm 130 fs Ti: Sapphire laser were studied. The results indicated that the white-light continuum spectrally ranged from 1000 to 400 nm, which was mainly attributed to self-phase modulation related to Kerr effect and ionization. The pulse duration of different spectral components of the generated white-light continuum, which was measured with frequency up-conversion technique, was obtained around 137 fs. It revealed a comparable time resolution as the original laser pulse.