Measurement of the front profile of a subnanosecond laser pulse with a large dynamic range

A photochronographic method for measuring the front profile of a laser pulse is described. The method exploits the saturation of an image converter. The dynamic range of these measurements reaches 10⁵ at 1.315 μm, the wavelength of an iodine laser. The relative error of the power measurements is no greater than 20%. The time resolution is no worse than 25 ps per tenfold change in power.