shortpulse

Shortpulse is a term used to describe a pulse with a very short duration in electronics, photonics, and related fields. It is not a fixed standard but a category defined by its short pulse width, typically ranging from a few nanoseconds down to picoseconds or femtoseconds in specialized experiments. Shortpulses are exploited to study fast dynamic processes, calibrate timing systems, and drive high-bandwidth communications.

In electronics, short pulse generation relies on fast switches, impulse generators, and high-speed logic to produce narrow spikes. Techniques include step recovery diodes, avalanche transistors, and transient current injection with controlled impedance. In optics, short optical pulses are produced by mode-locked lasers, gain-switching, or pulsed fiber systems, delivering femtosecond to nanosecond-scale light bursts.

Applications include time-resolved spectroscopy, ultrafast imaging, high-speed data transmission, LIDAR and rangefinding, pump-probe experiments, and calibration of measurement equipment. In communications, short pulses enable inline timing and high peak power for short-time signaling; in metrology, they enable precise time-of-flight measurements and frequency comb generation.

Key characteristics include pulse width, peak power, spectral bandwidth, and timing jitter. Short pulses are sensitive to dispersion and nonlinear effects as they propagate through media, requiring careful channel design and compensation with dispersion management, shielding, and high-bandwidth measurement instruments such as fast oscilloscopes and photodetectors.