Influence of self-focusing effect on femtosecond collinear nondegenerate optical Kerr measurements

We performed the femtosecond nondegenerate optical Kerr shutter (OKS) measurements in a 10-mm-thick optical glass. The time-resolved OKS signals showed an obvious asymmetry and a large broadening with respect to that for thin samples. The time-resolved OKS signals in samples with different thicknesses showed that, the temporal broadening of the OKS signals was attributed to the group velocity mismatch between pump and probe beams of different wavelengths. By imaging the filament induced inside the glass, we attributed the asymmetry of the time-resolved OKS signals to the focusing position change of pump beam caused by self-focusing and re-focusing effect.