  Single-shot ultrafast absorbance spectroscopy based on the frequency encoding
of the kinetics is analyzed theoretically and implemented experimentally. The
kinetics are sampled in the frequency domain using linearly chirped, amplified
33 fs FWHM pulses derived from a Ti:sapphire laser. A variable length grating
pair compressor is used to achieve the time resolution of 500-1000 channels per
a 2-to-160 ps window with sensitivity > 5x10-4. In terms of the acquisition
time, FDSS has an advantage over the pump-probe spectroscopy in a situation
when the "noise" is dominated by amplitude variations of the signal, due to the
pump and flow instabilities. The possibilities of FDSS are illustrated with the
kinetics obtained in multiphoton ionization of water and aqueous iodide and
one-photon excitation of polycrystalline ZnSe and thin-film amorphous Si:H.
Unlike other "single-shot" techniques, FDSS can be implemented for fluid
samples flowing in a high-speed jet and for thin solid samples that exhibit
interference fringes; no a priori knowledge of the excitation profile of the
pump across the beam is needed. Another advantage is that due to the
interference of quasimonochromatic components of the chirped probe pulse, an
oscillation pattern near the origin of the FDSS kinetics emerges. This pattern
is unique and can be used to determine the complex dielectric function of the
photogenerated species.
