Generation of 0.1-TW 5-fs optical pulses at a 1-kHz repetition rate

Experimental Demonstration to Control the Pulse Length of Coherent Undulator Radiation by Chirped Microbunching

In seeded free electron lasers (FELs), the temporal profile of FEL pulses usually reflects that of the seed pulse, and, thus, shorter FEL pulses are available with shorter seed pulses. In an extreme condition, however, this correlation is violated; the FEL pulse is stretched by the so-called slippage effect in undulators, when the seed pulse is ultimately short, e.g., few-cycles long. In a previous Letter, we have proposed a scheme to suppress the slippage effect and reduce the pulse length of FELs ultimately down to a single-cycle duration, which is based on "chirped microbunching," or an electron density modulation with a varying modulation period. Toward realization of FELs based on the proposed scheme, experiments have been carried out to demonstrate its fundamental mechanism in the NewSUBARU synchrotron radiation facility, using an ultrashort seed pulse with the pulse length shorter than five cycles. Experimental results of spectral and cross-correlation measurements have been found to be in reasonable agreement with the theoretical predictions, which strongly suggests the successful demonstration of the proposed scheme.

Saturation control of an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier

Optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) is a light amplification technique that provides the combination of broad spectral gain bandwidth and large energy, directly supporting few-cycle pulses with multi-terawatt (TW) peak powers. Saturation in an OPCPA increases the stability and conversion efficiency of the system. However, distinct spectral components experience different gain and do not saturate under the same conditions, which reduces performance. Here, we describe a simple and robust approach to control the saturation for all spectral components. The demonstrated optimal saturation increases the overall gain, conversion efficiency and spectral bandwidth. We experimentally obtain an improvement of the pulse energy by more than 18%. This technique is easily implemented in any existing OPCPA system with a pulse shaper to maximize its output.

Transient grating in a thin gas target for characterization of extremely short optical pulses

A transient-grating cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating (TG XFROG) with a thin gas target toward characterization of sub-femtosecond optical pulses is discussed. For evaluation of the reliability, sub-10 fs near-infrared pulses are characterized, the results of which are compared with those given by the sum-frequency-generation XFROG. The TG XFROG covers the nanojoule energy range or that for the advanced few-cycle UV pulses recently reported. It is also shown that the TG XFROG fails to characterize and heavily underestimates the durations of intense test pulses. The FROG technique sensitively detects the onset of this anomalous behavior, which represents a serious issue for pulse characterizations.

0.24 TW ultrabroadband, CEP-stable multipass Ti:Sa amplifier

We demonstrate a single-stage, multipass Ti:sapphire amplifier capable of delivering sub-13 fs, 3.2 mJ pulses at a 1 kHz repetition rate. Gaussian filters are used to suppress the gain-narrowing effect, thereby enabling the achievement of an ultrabroadband flat-top spectrum with a FWHM>130  nm. The carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of the output pulses is actively stabilized via the feed-forward scheme (for the oscillator) and a fast 1 kHz f-to-2f interferometer, which corrects the amplifier-induced CEP drift. The single-shot 75 h CEP measurement yielded rms noise of <150  mrad.

Low repetition rate 343 nm passively Q-switched solid-state laser for time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy

We demonstrate a low-cost 343 nm solid-state laser delivering up to 20 µJ per pulse, with a pulse width of 2.3 ns at a repetition rate of 100 Hz. The 343 nm is obtained through a third harmonic generation of a passively Q-switched 1030 nm Yb:YAG laser with pulse energy of 190 µJ at 100 Hz and a pulse width of 5.4 ns. The IR-UV conversion efficiency is 10.4%, comparable to that achieved with mode-locked IR lasers. The light source is electronically controlled for easy synchronization with a detection circuit. The low repetition rate specifically targets applications exploiting the millisecond scale lifetime of lanthanides employed in fluoroimmunoassay measurements for time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Low repetition rate and even pulse-on-demand operation is demonstrated.

Simple technique for the compression of nanojoule pulses from few-cycle laser oscillator to 1.7-cycle duration via nonlinear spectral broadening in diamond

We report on a simple approach for the compression of few-cycle laser pulses generated in an ultrafast laser oscillator to a duration corresponding to 1.7 cycles of near-infrared light (compression factor of 1.44) by nonlinear spectral broadening in diamond and subsequent dispersion compensation using chirped mirrors. After the spectral broadening, the pulse spectrum spans over almost an octave (580-1000 nm at the -10  dB level). The pulses are compressed by broadband-chirped mirrors and a wedge pair to a duration of 4.5 fs measured by spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER). The properties of the broadened spectrum and their modelling by numerical solution of a 1D nonlinear Schrödinger equation show that the main source of spectral broadening is self-phase modulation, whereas stimulated Raman scattering does not play a significant role.

Self-calibrating d-scan: measuring ultrashort laser pulses on-target using an arbitrary pulse compressor

In most applications of ultrashort pulse lasers, temporal compressors are used to achieve a desired pulse duration in a target or sample, and precise temporal characterization is important. The dispersion-scan (d-scan) pulse characterization technique usually involves using glass wedges to impart variable, well-defined amounts of dispersion to the pulses, while measuring the spectrum of a nonlinear signal produced by those pulses. This works very well for broadband few-cycle pulses, but longer, narrower bandwidth pulses are much more difficult to measure this way. Here we demonstrate the concept of self-calibrating d-scan, which extends the applicability of the d-scan technique to pulses of arbitrary duration, enabling their complete measurement without prior knowledge of the introduced dispersion. In particular, we show that the pulse compressors already employed in chirped pulse amplification (CPA) systems can be used to simultaneously compress and measure the temporal profile of the output pulses on-target in a simple way, without the need of additional diagnostics or calibrations, while at the same time calibrating the often-unknown differential dispersion of the compressor itself. We demonstrate the technique through simulations and experiments under known conditions. Finally, we apply it to the measurement and compression of 27.5 fs pulses from a CPA laser.

Universal route to optimal few- to single-cycle pulse generation in hollow-core fiber compressors

Gas-filled hollow-core fiber (HCF) pulse post-compressors generating few- to single-cycle pulses are a key enabling tool for attosecond science and ultrafast spectroscopy. Achieving optimum performance in this regime can be extremely challenging due to the ultra-broad bandwidth of the pulses and the need of an adequate temporal diagnostic. These difficulties have hindered the full exploitation of HCF post-compressors, namely the generation of stable and high-quality near-Fourier-transform-limited pulses. Here we show that, independently of conditions such as the type of gas or the laser system used, there is a universal route to obtain the shortest stable output pulse down to the single-cycle regime. Numerical simulations and experimental measurements performed with the dispersion-scan technique reveal that, in quite general conditions, post-compressed pulses exhibit a residual third-order dispersion intrinsic to optimum nonlinear propagation within the fiber, in agreement with measurements independently performed in several laboratories around the world. The understanding of this effect and its adequate correction, e.g. using simple transparent optical media, enables achieving high-quality post-compressed pulses with only minor changes in existing setups. These optimized sources have impact in many fields of science and technology and should enable new and exciting applications in the few- to single-cycle pulse regime.

Simultaneous second- and third- order spectral phase control of Ti:sapphire laser pulses using achromatic doublet prisms

The standard technique commonly utilized to introduce large amounts of negative group delay dispersion (GDD) into the beam path of ultrashort laser pulses with low insertion losses is the use of a pair of prisms in a double pass configuration. However, one disadvantage of this approach is the unavoidable introduction of additional high-order spectral phase errors, most notably third-order dispersion (TOD) due to the characteristics of the refractive index of available optical materials. In this paper we provide an overview of the dispersive properties of more than 100 common types of optical glasses, used either as a bulk stretcher or in a prism compressor configuration. In addition, we present a novel method that enables independent control of GDD and TOD in a prism-only setup. The performance of different prism combinations is analyzed numerically, and design guidelines are given.

Dual-wavelength Nd:YAG laser operation at 1319 and 1338 nm by direct pumping at 885 nm

This paper presents a continuous wave and a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser pumped by diode laser at 885 nm. The maximum output power of the CW laser is 8.28 W with an absorbed slope efficiency of 35.01%. The Q-switching is achieved using a V³⁺:YAG crystal as the saturable absorber. The maximum output power of the passively Q-switched laser is 3.55 W with an absorbed pumping power of 28.65 W operated with a dual wavelength at 1319 and 1338 nm. The shortest pulse widths of the Q-switched laser are 20.20 and 20.86 ns, with a maximum repetition rate of 64.10 kHz.

Passive coherent combining of CEP-stable few-cycle pulses from a temporally divided hollow fiber compressor

We demonstrate a simple and robust passive coherent combining technique for temporal compression of millijoule energy laser pulses down to few-cycle duration in a gas-filled hollow fiber. High combining efficiency is achieved by using carefully oriented calcite plates for temporal pulse division and recombination. Carrier-envelope phase (CEP)-stable, 6-fs, 800-nm pulses with more than 0.6 mJ energy are routinely generated. This method could aid in the energy scaling of CEP-stable hollow-fiber compressor systems.

High-speed acousto-optic shutter with no optical frequency shift

Acousto-optic modulators are widely used for rapid switching and shuttering of laser beams. In many applications, the concomitant frequency shift is undesirable and must be compensated for elsewhere in the system. Here we present a simple method of achieving rapid laser power switching without an accompanying laser frequency shift. The demonstrated acousto-optic shutter achieves a switching time of around 25 ns, an extinction ratio of 46 dB, and efficiency comparable to a conventional double-pass acousto-optical modulator configuration.

Electro-optically generating and controlling right- and left-handed circularly polarized multiring modes of light beams

We propose a simple method for generating and controlling right- and left-handed circularly polarized (RHP and LHP) multiring modes of light beams by means of Pockels effect in a single strontium barium niobate (SBN) crystal. The numerical results show that an LHP Laguerre-Gaussian LG(0l) beam, propagating along the optical axis of the crystal, will partly turn into an RHP vortex light field of order l+2. Moreover, a pair of the LHP and RHP components of the output light field is LG-like modes sharing an identically radial index, which is electro-optically controllable. The power ratio between these two components depends on the applied electric field and the mode of input beam.

Invited review article: technology for attosecond science

We describe a complete technological system at Imperial College London for Attosecond Science studies. The system comprises a few-cycle, carrier envelope phase stabilized laser source which delivers sub 4 fs pulses to a vibration-isolated attosecond vacuum beamline. The beamline is used for the generation of isolated attosecond pulses in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) at kilohertz repetition rates through laser-driven high harmonic generation in gas targets. The beamline incorporates: interferometers for producing pulse sequences for pump-probe studies; the facility to spectrally and spatially filter the harmonic radiation; an in-line spatially resolving XUV spectrometer; and a photoelectron spectroscopy chamber in which attosecond streaking is used to characterize the attosecond pulses. We discuss the technology and techniques behind the development of our complete system and summarize its performance. This versatile apparatus has enabled a number of new experimental investigations which we briefly describe.

Ultrabroadband spectral amplitude modulation using a liquid crystal spatial light modulator with ultraviolet-to-near-infrared bandwidth

The first demonstration to our knowledge in the spectral range from 300 to 1100 nm is presented for the amplitude modulation characteristics of a two-channel 648-pixel liquid crystal spatial light modulator. The broadest spectral amplitude modulation for UV (380-420 nm) and visible-to-near-IR (500-900 nm) pulses to generate a spectral-shifted pulse pair is experimentally realized. The results show that the liquid crystal spatial light modulator has a potential application for attosecond extreme-UV pulse characterization with the conventional SPIDER algorithm and the capability to shape monocycle optical pulses.

Chirped-pulse amplification of laser pulses with dispersive mirrors

We report a novel implementation of chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) by dominantly using dispersive multilayer mirrors for chirp control. Our prototyp dispersive-mirror (DMC) compressor has been designed for a kHz Ti:sapphire amplifier and yielded--in a proof-of-concept study--millijoule-energy, sub-20-fs, 790-nm laser pulses with an overall throughput of approximately 90% and unprecedented spatio-temporal quality. Dispersive-mirror-based CPA permits a dramatic simplification of high-power lasers and affords promise for their advancement to shorter pulse durations, higher peak powers, and higher average powers with user-friendly systems.

Pump–Probe Spectroscopy of Cycloheptatriene: Transient Anisotropy and Isotope Effect

Internal conversion processes of 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (CHT) and its perdeuterated counterpart (CHT-d8) in liquid cyclohexane have been studied by performing pump–probe experiments. The excitation and probe wavelength were 263 nm and 395 nm, respectively; the time resolution was 50 fs. Temporal absorption and transient anisotropy profiles were monitored. The experimental findings are consistent with the following mechanism: After excitation, the system undergoes a fast internal conversion associated with a molecular reorientation. The characteristic times are (110±10) fs for CHT and (150±20) fs for CHT-d8. The transient anisotropy as well as the isotope effect are consistent with a [1,7] hydrogen shift as reorientation mechanism. Moreover, initial anisotropies indicate that coherence effects between two excited states at early times may occur.

High-repetition-rate picosecond pump laser based on a Yb:YAG disk amplifier for optical parametric amplification

We report an optically synchronized picosecond pump laser for optical parametric amplifiers based on an Yb:YAG thin-disk amplifier. At 3 kHz repetition rate, pulse energies of 25 mJ with 1.6 ps pulse duration were achieved with an rms fluctuation in pulse energy of <0.7% by utilizing a broadly intermittent single-energy regime in the deterministic chaos of a continuously pumped regenerative amplifier.

Pulse compression of submillijoule few-optical-cycle infrared laser pulses using chirped mirrors

We report generation of 400 microJ, 13.1 fs, 1425 nm optical parametric amplifier laser pulses. Spectral broadening of a 100 Hz optical parametric amplifier laser source is achieved by self-phase modulation in an argon-filled hollow-core fiber, and dispersion compensation is performed using chirped mirrors. This laser source will be useful for ultrafast time-resolved molecular orbital tomography.

Generation of 4.3 fs, 1 mJ laser pulses via compression of circularly polarized pulses in a gas-filled hollow-core fiber

We report the generation of 4.3 fs, 1 mJ pulses at 1 kHz using a hollow-core fiber compressor seeded with circularly polarized laser pulses. We observe up to 30% more energy throughput compared to the case of linearly polarized laser input, together with significantly improved output spectral stability. Seeding with circularly polarized pulses proves to be an effective approach for high-energy operation of the hollow-fiber compression technique.

Pulse compression and shaping of broadband optical parametric amplifier laser source

We report pulse compression and shaping of a 100 Hz broadband optical parametric amplifier (OPA) laser source generated by self-phase modulation in a hollow-core fiber. The amplitude and phase of the broadband OPA laser pulses are controlled using an acousto optic programmable dispersive filter (AOPDF). Using the AOPDF, we demonstrate compression, characterization, and amplitude/phase control of 1300 nm 20 fs laser pulses with energies up to 10 microJ. This novel source is suitable for seeding successive OPA amplification stages and for time-resolved spectroscopy.

Direct amplification of terawatt sub-10-fs pulses in a CPA system of Ti:sapphire laser

We have developed a chirped pulse amplification system of Ti:sapphire laser generating a 9.9 fs pulse with a pulse energy of 11 mJ at a repetition rate of 10 Hz. Spectral narrowing during amplification is successfully compensated by using specially designed partial mirrors and broadband high-damage-threshold mirrors. This is the first demonstration, to the best of our knowledge, of the direct amplification of terawatt sub-10-fs pulses in a chirped pulse amplification system of Ti:sapphire laser.

Ultrafast Relaxation Dynamics of Perchlorinated Cycloheptatriene in Solution

The photochemistry of perchlorinated cycloheptatriene (CHTCl(8)) has been studied by means of ultrafast pump-probe, transient anisotropy and continuous UV-irradiation experiments in various solvents as well as by DFT calculations. After UV-excitation to the 1A' '-state, two competing reactions occur--a [1,7]-sigmatropic chlorine migration via two ultrafast internal conversions and a [4,5]-electrocyclization forming octachlorobicylo[3.2.0]hepta-[2,6]-diene. The first reaction has been studied by excitation with a 263 nm femtosecond-laser pulse. Pump-probe experiments reveal a first, solvent-independent time constant, tau1(CHTCl(8)) = 140 fs, that can be associated with the electronic relaxation of the 2A'-1A' ' transition, while a second one, tau2(CHTCl(8)), ranges from 0.9 to 1.8 ps depending on the polarity of the solvent. This finding is consistent with a [1,7]-chlorine migration during the 1A'-2A' transition where the migrating chlorine atom is partly negatively charged. The charge separation has also been confirmed by DFT calculations. Transient anisotropy measurements result in a time zero value of r(0) = 0.35 after deconvolution and a decay constant of tau1(a) = 120 fs, which can be explained by vibrational motions of CHTCl(8) in the electronically excited states, 1A' ' and 2A'. After continuous UV-irradiation of CHTCl(8), octachlorobicylo[3.2.0]hepta-[2,6]-diene is primarily formed with a solvent-dependent yield. From these investigations, we suggest a relaxation mechanism for CHTCl(8) after photoexcitation that is comparable to cycloheptatriene.

Carrier-envelope phase shift caused by grating-based stretchers and compressors

Simple analysis indicates that when the distance between gratings in optical stretchers and compressors varies by one half of the grating constant due to mechanical vibration or thermal motion, the change of the carrier-envelope phase is of the order of 2pi rad. To suppress the phase noise, one feedback loop is needed to stabilize the compressor while two loops are required for the stretcher. When the phase drift is measured with an f-to-2f interferometer, either the stretcher or the compressor can be feedback controlled to stabilize the carrier-envelope phase of the pulses from a chirped pulse amplifier.

High-repetition-rate 12 fs pulse amplification by a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system

We demonstrate the direct generation of 12 fs pulses from a Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier system at a 1 kHz repetition rate utilizing properly designed broadband components for chirped-pulse amplification. Optimized designs of a regenerative amplifier with a multilayer gain-narrowing compensator and an adaptive dispersion compensator with a spatial light modulator contribute to the shorter pulse amplification.

Validity of wave-front reconstruction and propagation of ultrabroadband pulses measured with a Hartmann-Shack sensor

Wave-front reconstruction for ultrabroadband laser pulses is verified by use of a Hartmann-Shack sensor. We estimate the accuracy of numerical wave-front propagation by comparing numerical with experimental results and verify that wave fronts of ultrabroadband laser pulses from a hollow fiber can be propagated correctly by a single polychromatic wave-front measurement to a place where detection is not practicable, e.g., inside a vacuum chamber or laser focus.

Protective materials for subpicosecond Ti:sapphire lasers

The high intensities provided by short-pulse Ti:sapphire laser systems call for the utilization of appropriate eye-protecting materials. We summarize the representative results of our characterization measurements on optical filters employed for laser radiation protection. Physical effects are discussed that influence the transmission (and thus the protective properties) of the investigated materials. Potential hazard factors have been recognized and characterized. We make recommendations to the extension of the current characterization methods and illustrate the acquired information in the form of operation charts.

Multimillijoule chirped parametric amplification of few-cycle pulses

The concept of optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification is applied to attain pulses with energies up to 8 mJ and a bandwidth of more than 100 THz. Stretched broadband seed pulses from a Ti:sapphire oscillator are amplified in a multistage noncollinear type I phase-matched beta-barium borate parametric amplifier by use of an independent picosecond laser with lock-to-clock repetition rate synchronization. Partial compression of amplified pulses is demonstrated down to a 10-fs duration with a down-chirped pulse stretcher and a nearly lossless compressor comprising bulk material and positive-dispersion chirped mirrors.

Volumetric intensity dependence on the formation of molecular and atomic ions within a high intensity laser focus

The mechanism of atomic and molecular ionization in intense, ultra-short laser fields is a subject which continues to receive considerable attention. An inherent difficulty with techniques involving the tight focus of a laser beam is the continuous distribution of intensities contained within the focus, which can vary over several orders of magnitude. The present study adopts time of flight mass spectrometry coupled with a high intensity (8 x 10(15) Wcm(-2)), ultra-short (20 fs) pulse laser in order to investigate the ionization and dissociation of the aromatic molecule benzene-d1 (C(6)H(5)D) as a function of intensity within a focused laser beam, by scanning the laser focus in the direction of propagation, while detecting ions produced only in a "thin" slice (400 and 800 microm) of the focus. The resultant TOF mass spectra varies significantly, highlighting the dependence on the range of specific intensities accessed and their volumetric weightings on the ionization/dissociation pathways accessed.

Proposal for intense attosecond radiation from an x-ray free-electron laser

We propose the use of an ultrarelativistic electron beam interacting with a few-cycle, intense laser pulse and an intense pulse of the coherent x rays to produce a multi-MW intensity, x-ray pulses approximately 100 attoseconds in duration. Because of a naturally occurring frequency chirp, these pulses can be further temporally compressed.

High-order pulse front tilt caused by high-order angular dispersion

We have found general expressions relating the high-order pulse front tilt and the high-order angular dispersion in an ultrashort pulse, for the first time to our knowledge. The general formulae based on Fermat's principle are applicable for any ultrashort pulse with angular dispersion in the limit of geometrical optics. By virtue of these formulae, we can calculate the high-order pulse front tilt in the sub-20-fs UV pulse generated in a novel scheme of sum-frequency mixing in a nonlinear crystal accompanied by angular dispersion. It is also demonstrated how the high-order angular dispersion can be eliminated in the calculation.

Sub-10-fs, terawatt-scale Ti:sapphire laser system

A three-stage, 1-kHz amplifier system delivering pulses shorter than 10 fs with a peak power in excess of 0.3 TW is reported. Passive and active spectral intensity and phase control allows the preservation of a bandwidth of 120 nm (FWHM) to as high as multimillijoule energy levels and temporal compression of the broadband pulses close to their Fourier limit. The system is scalable to peak powers well beyond 1 TW and holds promise for substantially advancing the state of the art of coherent laboratory soft-x-ray sources.

Attosecond control of electronic processes by intense light fields

The amplitude and frequency of laser light can be routinely measured and controlled on a femtosecond (10(-15) s) timescale. However, in pulses comprising just a few wave cycles, the amplitude envelope and carrier frequency are not sufficient to characterize and control laser radiation, because evolution of the light field is also influenced by a shift of the carrier wave with respect to the pulse peak. This so-called carrier-envelope phase has been predicted and observed to affect strong-field phenomena, but random shot-to-shot shifts have prevented the reproducible guiding of atomic processes using the electric field of light. Here we report the generation of intense, few-cycle laser pulses with a stable carrier envelope phase that permit the triggering and steering of microscopic motion with an ultimate precision limited only by quantum mechanical uncertainty. Using these reproducible light waveforms, we create light-induced atomic currents in ionized matter; the motion of the electronic wave packets can be controlled on timescales shorter than 250 attoseconds (250 x 10(-18) s). This enables us to control the attosecond temporal structure of coherent soft X-ray emission produced by the atomic currents--these X-ray photons provide a sensitive and intuitive tool for determining the carrier-envelope phase.

Silver-coated hollow-glass waveguide for applications at 800 nm

A 250-microm-bore size and 50-cm-length hollow-glass waveguide (HGW) coated with a thin film of silver has been used to transport laser pulses at 800 nm from a Ti:sapphire oscillator. The silver film is deposited by a liquid-phase process. The measured transmission of this silver-coated HGW is 95%, which is considerably higher than the transmission of HGWs with no coating, as reported by other groups. The image of the output beam taken at different distances from the fiber output shows that a single HE11 mode couples to free-space modes from the exit of the fiber. Considerable spectral broadening can be obtained with high-intensity femtosecond pulse when this waveguide is filled with argon. This HGW can be used for such applications as beam transport and optical-pulse compression.

Polarization of multiple rotational Raman sidebands from hydrogen gas by delayed four-wave Raman mixing in the femtosecond regime

We demonstrate delayed four-wave Raman mixing in hydrogen gas and discuss the polarization of multiple rotational Raman radiation in the sub-100-fs regime. The mechanism of sideband generation through the interaction between a probe pulse and coherence of molecular motions induced by a pump pulse in hydrogen is revealed. One can artificially control the ellipticity of the polarization of the rotational Raman sidebands by changing the pump pulse polarization.

Ultrashort 1-kHz laser plasma hard x-ray source

We achieved a continuous, stable, ultrashort pulse hard x-ray point source by focusing 1.8-W, 1-kHz, 50-fs laser pulses onto a novel, 30-microm -diameter, high-velocity, liquid-metal gallium jet. This target geometry avoids most of the debris problems of solid targets and provides nearly 4pi illumination. Photon fluxes of 5x10(8) photons/s are generated in a two-component spectrum consisting of a broad continuum from 4 to 14 keV and strong K(alpha) and K(beta) emission lines at 9.25 and 10.26 keV. This source will find wide use in time-resolved x-ray diffraction studies and other applications.

X-ray pulses approaching the attosecond frontier

Single soft-x-ray pulses of approximately 90-electron volt (eV) photon energy are produced by high-order harmonic generation with 7-femtosecond (fs), 770-nanometer (1.6 eV) laser pulses and are characterized by photoionizing krypton in the presence of the driver laser pulse. By detecting photoelectrons ejected perpendicularly to the laser polarization, broadening of the photoelectron spectrum due to absorption and emission of laser photons is suppressed, permitting the observation of a laser-induced downshift of the energy spectrum with sub-laser-cycle resolution in a cross correlation measurement. We measure isolated x-ray pulses of 1.8 (+0.7/-1.2) fs in duration, which are shorter than the oscillation cycle of the driving laser light (2.6 fs). Our techniques for generation and measurement offer sub-femtosecond resolution over a wide range of x-ray wavelengths, paving the way to experimental attosecond science. Tracing atomic processes evolving faster than the exciting light field is within reach.

Femtosecond X-Ray fluorescence

Using few-cycle-driven coherent laser harmonics, K-shell vacancies have been created in light elements, such as boron (E(B) = 188 eV) and carbon (E(B) = 284 eV), on a time scale of a few femtoseconds for the first time. The capability of detecting x-ray fluorescence excited by few-femtosecond radiation with an accuracy of the order of 1 eV paves the way for probing the evolution of the microscopic environment of selected atoms in chemical and biochemical reactions on previously inaccessible time scales (<100 fs) by tracing the temporal evolution of the "chemical shift" of peaks associated with inner-shell electronic transitions in time-resolved x-ray fluorescence and photoelectron spectra.

Controlling the phase evolution of few-cycle light pulses

Using a coherent nonlinear optical technique, slipping of the carrier through the envelope of 6-fs light wave packets emitted from a mode-locked-oscillator/pulse-compressor system has been measured, permitting the generation of intense, few-cycle light with precisely reproducible electric and magnetic fields. These pulses open the way to controlling the evolution of strong-field interactions on the time scale of the light oscillation cycle and are indispensable to reproducible attosecond x-ray pulse generation.

Generation of terawatt pulses by use of optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

Optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers offer exciting prospects for generating new extremes in power, intensity, and pulse duration. An experiment is described that was used to investigate the operation of this scheme up to energies approaching a joule, as a step toward its implementation at the petawatt level. The results demonstrate an energy gain of 10(10) with an energy extraction efficiency of 20% and close to diffraction-limited performance. Some spectral narrowing during amplification was shown to be compatible with the time-varying profile of the pump beam and consistent with the measured recompressed pulse durations of 260 and 300 fs before and after amplification, respectively.

Optical pulse compression: bulk media versus hollow waveguides

Optical pulse-compression systems based on bulk materials and hollow waveguides are compared by use of coupled-mode theory. Our analysis reveals an intuitive picture of the temporal and spatial nonlinear processes involved in pulse compression. Further, simple formulas are derived that give an estimate of the spatial distortions and of the self-phase modulation induced by Kerr nonlinearity. Finally, a parameter regime is identified in which self-focusing in bulk media is suppressed, resulting in a substantial improvement in the spatial beam quality of the compressed pulses.