Measurement of sub-pulse-width temporal delays via spectral interference induced by weak value amplification

Abstract

We demonstrate experimentally a scheme to measure small temporal delays, much smaller than the pulse width, between optical pulses. Specifically, we observe an interference effect, based on the concepts of quantum weak measurements and weak value amplification, through which a sub-pulse-width temporal delay between two femtosecond pulses induces a measurable shift of the central frequency of the pulse. The amount of frequency shift, and the accompanying losses of the measurement, can be tailored by postselecting different states of polarization. Our scheme requires only spectrum measurements and linear optics elements, hence greatly facilitating its implementation. Thus it appears to be a promising technique for measuring small and rapidly varying temporal delays.