We summarize the problem of measuring an ultrashort laser pulse and describe in detail a
technique that completely characterizes a pulse in time: frequency-resolved optical gating.
Emphasis is placed on the choice of experimental beam geometry and the implementation
of the iterative phase-retrieval algorithm that together yield an accurate measurement of the
pulse time-dependent intensity and phase over a wide range of circumstances. We compare
several commonly used beam geometries, displaying sample traces for each and showing …