Measurement of group velocity dispersion of solvents using 2-cycle femtosecond pulses: Experiment and theory

Second and third-order dispersion for water, methanol, cyclohexane, carbon tetrachloride, dimethyl sulfoxide, toluene and carbon disulfide are measured with high accuracy and precision in the range of 700-900 nm using two-cycle long femtosecond laser pulses. The ratio between second and third-order dispersion, which is predicted to vary linearly, is experimentally confirmed and this observation is examined theoretically. A method to predict second and third-order dispersion of unknown transparent media with accuracy that is comparable to the best experimental methods is proposed and tested. The information provided is important for applications of ultrafast lasers in science, medicine and industry.