Designing an ultrafast laser virtual laboratory using MATLAB GUIDE

In this work we present a virtual simulator developed using the MATLAB GUIDE environment based on the numerical resolution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLS) and using the split step method for the study of the spatial–temporal propagation of nonlinear ultrashort laser pulses. This allows us to study the spatial–temporal propagation of ultrafast pulses as well as the influence of high-order spectral phases such as group delay dispersion and third-order dispersion on pulse compression in time. The NLS can describe several nonlinear effects, in particular in this paper we consider the Kerr effect, cross-polarized wave generation and cubic–quintic propagation in order to highlight the potential of this equation combined with the GUIDE environment. Graphical user interfaces are commonly used in science and engineering teaching due to their educational value, and have proven to be an effective way to engage and motivate students. Specifically, the interactive graphical interfaces presented provide the visualization of some of the most important nonlinear optics phenomena and allows users to vary the values of the main parameters involved.