Patent ID: 7728981

Claim:
Device for measuring the profile of very short single optical pulses or pulses with a low repetition rate, comprising replication device configured to create a series of replica pulses of the initial optical pulse, with period τ starting from an initial optical pulse a slaving device configured to adjust the amplitudes of replica pulses to values approximately the same as each other, an optical sampling device configured to sample replica pulses to output optical samples starting from the replica pulses, and a detector configured to form an electrical signal from optical samples output by the optical sampling device, the optical sampling device comprising a laser source that emits laser pulses with a frequency 1/To and with a very much shorter duration than the initial optical pulse, the period τ of the replica pulses and the period To of the laser pulses being related by the relation: τ= To−δt , where δt is a time drift with a very significantly shorter duration than the initial optical pulse duration, and an optical sampler illuminated by the replica pulses and by the laser pulses, said device for measuring being characterised in that said replication device comprises an optical fibre loop and an amplifier in said loop, said optical sampler comprises a divider to divide a replica pulse into a first replica pulse fraction and a second replica pulse fraction, a saturable absorbent comprising a first zone and a second zone, illuminated by the first and second replica pulse fractions respectively, the first zone being made approximately transparent under the effect of laser pulses, and an interferometric optical subtraction device that outputs an optical sample as the result of the difference between a sampled signal output from the first saturable absorbent zone and a signal output from the second saturable absorbent zone.