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Generation of intense, carrier-envelope phase-locked few-cycle laser pulses through filamentation

Hauri, C.P. ; Kornelis, W. ; Helbing, F.W. ; Heinrich, A. ; Couairon, A. ; Mysyrowicz, A. ; Biegert, J. ; Keller, U.

In: Applied Physics B, 2004, vol. 79, no. 6, p. 673-677

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    Title
    • Generation of intense, carrier-envelope phase-locked few-cycle laser pulses through filamentation
    Author
    • Hauri, C.P.. Physics Department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Kornelis, W.. Physics Department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Helbing, F.W.. Physics Department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Heinrich, A.. Physics Department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Couairon, A.. Centre de Physique Théorique, École Polytechnique, CNRS UMR 7644, 1128, Palaiseau Cedex, France
    • Mysyrowicz, A.. Laboratoire d'Optique Appliquée, École Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées, École Polytechnique, 91761, Palaiseau Cedex, France
    • Biegert, J.. Physics Department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Keller, U.. Physics Department, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zürich), 8093, Zürich, Switzerland
    Document Type
    • Postprint
    Classification
    • Physics
    OAI-PMH Identifier
    • oai:doc.rero.ch:319556
    Summary
    Intense, well-controlled light pulses with only a few optical cycles start to play a crucial role in many fields of physics, such as attosecond science. We present an extremely simple and robust technique to generate such carrier-envelope offset (CEO) phase locked few-cycle pulses, relying on self-guiding of intense 43-fs, 0.84mJ optical pulses during propagation in a transparent noble gas. We have demonstrated 5.7-fs, 0.38mJ pulses with an excellent spatial beam profile and discuss the potential for much shorter pulses. Numerical simulations confirm that filamentation is the mechanism responsible for pulse shortening. The method is widely applicable and much less sensitive to experimental conditions such as beam alignment, input pulse duration or gas pressure as compared to gas-filled hollow fibers