FLASH: Ultrafast beam quality characterization via spatial-to-temporal mapping

Abstract

Accurate and real-time monitoring of spatial beam quality has emerged as the absolute prerequisite for intelligent optical field regulation and advanced laser applications. However, modern high-power and multimode optical systems exhibit highly complex, nonlinear, and transient behaviors. In these systems, the spatial beam profile undergoes dramatic reorganizations within extremely short timeframes. Phenomena such as spatio-temporal mode-locking, transient beam self-cleaning, and plasma-induced aberrations demand nanosecond-level dynamic characterization. Yet, capturing these ultrafast dynamics is fundamentally bottlenecked by the kilohertz frame rates of conventional two-dimensional image sensors. To break this dimensional and temporal barrier, we propose an ultrafast non-imaging beam quality monitoring technique, termed Fiber-based Laser Assessment via Spatial-to-temporal High-speed-mapping (FLASH). By utilizing a multimode fiber to encode spatial beam variations into high-dimensional speckle fingerprints and a multicore fiber delay line array to serialize these features, we transform two-dimensional spatial information into high-speed one-dimensional temporal pulse sequences. Empowered by a deep learning model to decipher the serialized signals, the FLASH system achieves an unprecedented 100 MHz measurement rate with a minimal mean relative error of 0.32%. Realizing a five-order-of-magnitude speed improvement over standard camera-based methods, this spatial-to-temporal mapping paradigm provides a transformative spatial oscilloscope. It unlocks new possibilities for real-time intelligent adaptive control and the exploration of complex multimode nonlinear physics.