Coherent matter waves for ultrafast laser pulse characterization

A technique for the characterization of ultrashort laser pulses using coherent matter waves is demonstrated. We emphasize the analogy between matter wave packets and electromagnetic wave packets propagating in dispersive media. Due to quadratic dispersion the wave packets are stretched and their temporal structure eventually converges to their spectrum, thus providing a possibility for energy measurements in conjugate space. This is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally and is the basis for our laser pulse characterization technique. We use energy resolved interferometrically recorded photoelectron spectra generated by above-threshold ionization in an autocorrelation setup to characterize ultrashort laser pulses at 800 nm wavelength. This approach is potentially applicable to the XUV wavelength region.     

Three-dimensional tomographic reconstruction of ultrashort free electron wave packets

We present a tomographic technique based on Photoelectron Angular Distributions (PADs) measured by Velocity-Map-Imaging (VMI) to reconstruct the three-dimensional shape of ultrashort free electron wave packets obtained from 1+2 Resonance Enhanced Multi-Photon Ionization (REMPI) of potassium atoms. To this end the laser pulse is rotated about its propagation direction and a set of PADs are recorded at different rotation angles. The tomographic reconstruction technique is described and results for linear and elliptical polarization are presented. Results for linearly polarized light producing cylindrically symmetric electron wave packets confirm the validity of our method whereas elliptically polarized light serves as a prototype for polarization-shaped laser pulses.     

Third-harmonic and sum-frequency generation in a quadratically nonlinear polymer by time-ordered ultrashort laser pulses

Third-harmonic and sum-frequency generation in quadratically nonlinear azopolymer films is experimentally studied using femtosecond chromium forsterite laser pulses. A noncollinear geometry of sum-frequency and third-harmonic generation developed and implemented in this work allows the influence of the time ordering of ultrashort laser pump pulses on nonlinear-optical phenomena to be experimentally observed. Femtosecond laser pulses induce transitions of azopolymer molecules to an electronically excited state and produce vibrational wave packets, leading to an asymmetry in the dependence of the efficiency of second-and third-order nonlinear-optical processes on the delay time between the pump pulses.     

Quantum beats in stimulated electronic raman scattering of ultrashort laser pulses

A theory of quantum beats in a Stokes signal observed in pump-probe experiments upon excitation of four-level atoms with two close upper lying levels by femtosecond laser pulses is developed. Quantum beats arise in the intensity of the Stokes field due to the interference of two atomic wave packets generated by ultrashort pump and probe pulses. An analytical solution of the non-steady-state Maxwell-Bloch equations is obtained, and the dependence of the Stokes radiation intensity on the delay time between two laser pulses is investigated. The theoretical results describe qualitatively well the observed features of quantum beats.     

Multiphoton electron emission processes induced by different kinds of ultrashort laser pulses

Using ultrashort laser pulses of regular (gaussian shaped) time and spectral distribution, theoretically predicted, multiphoton electron emission processes have been observed. On changing this regular form of the ultrashort light pulses, however, the character of the emission process also changes, the explanation of which follows only partly from the evolution of the mode-locking train.     

Synchronization of Raman transitions in highly excited hydrogen atoms: A new proposal for measuring the Rydberg constant

We present an analysis of the Raman interaction between a Rydberg atom and ultrashort light pulses. An application of the synchronization of quantum transitions to a simple atomic system (the hydrogen atom) is demonstrated. This is a direct way of measuring times and frequencies of microwave transitions between the high-lying atomic states using ultrashort light pulses. The results and analysis represent a new method for measuring the Rydberg constant.     

Ultrashort pulse propagation in multiple-grating fiber structures

We propose a multiple-grating fiber structure that decomposes an ultrashort broadband optical pulse simultaneously in both wavelength and time. As an initial demonstration, we used a transform-limited 1-ps Gaussian pulse centered at 1.55 mu;m as the ultrashort broadband input into a three-grating fiber structure and generated three output pulses separated in wavelength and time with good correlation between experimental results and simulations. This device structure can be used to generate a multiwavelength train of pulses for use in wavelength-division-multiplexed systems or to implement frequency-domain encoding of coherent pulses for optical code-division multiple access.     

Measurement of the shape of picosecond light pulses using stimulated Raman scattering

The vibrational amplitude and the intensity of the Stokes light generated by transient stimulated Raman scattering rise and decay very rapidly. The time duration of the Stokes pulse and of the phonon pulse is much shorter than the pump pulse duration. It is shown that both phonon and Stokes pulses can be used to probe the shape of ultrashort light pulses.     

Theory of a ‘time telescope’

An analysis of an optical system for the magnification of ultrashort light pulses is presented. It consists of a series of time dispersive elements and acts as a pair of lenses (telescope) in time. Such a device would permit a direct measurement of the intensity profiles and durations of picosecond and femtosecond pulses instead of using autocorrelation estimations.     

Limitations and guidelines for measuring the spectral width of ultrashort light pulses with a scanning Fabry–Pérot interferometer

The measurement of the spectral width of ultrashort light pulses using a Fabry–Pérot interferometer (FPI) is investigated. It is shown, numerically and experimentally, that the measured width critically depends on the pulse properties (such as pulse shape, pulse duration, frequency chirp and wavelength) and on the properties of the FPI (such as the mirror spacing and the mirror reflectivities). The obtained results are of particular importance if the spatial length of the short light pulses is comparable or even shorter than the distance between the FPI mirrors. The derived guideline indicate that the actual spectral width of the ultrashort light pulses is measured with good accuracy only if the finesse F≥40 and the round trip time of the light pulses inside the Fabry–Pérot interferometer is approximately one to three times the pulse duration. Received: 17 December 1999 / Revised version: 14 April 2000 / Published online: 5 July 2000     

Ponderomotive shearing for spectral interferometry of extreme-ultraviolet pulses

We propose a novel method for completely characterizing ultrashort pulses at extreme-ultraviolet (XUV) wavelengths by adapting the technique of spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction to this spectral region. Two-electron wave packets are coherently produced by photoionizing atoms with two time-delayed replicas of the XUV pulse. For one of the XUV pulses, photoionization occurs in the presence of a strong infrared pulse that ponderomotively shifts the binding energy, thereby providing the spectral shear needed for reconstruction of the spectral phase of the XUV pulse.     

Relative phase measurement of a stark wave packet in the vicinity of the saddle point

A gas of Rb atoms in a static electric field has been photoexcited to just above the classical ionization threshold by a phase-locked sequence of two far infrared pulses. A single laser pulse generates a series of ejected electron packets emerging at the saddle point of the potential; each of the ejected packets is characterized by a phase and a chirp. We calculate and measure these phases and chirps using the time dependent interference of the electronic wave function controlled by the delay between the two light pulses.     

VUV超短脉冲的产生及其在超快动力学中的应用

真空紫外超短脉冲激光具有波长短、单光子能量高、脉宽小等特点,在飞秒化学以及超快动力学等方面具有相当广泛的应用前景.由于直接利用受激辐射获得真空紫外超短脉冲是相当困难,因此利用非线性频率转换技术,超短脉冲与惰性气体相互作用,将红外、可见或紫外光波段的超短脉冲转换到真空紫外波段是目前获得紫外超短脉冲最快捷有效的方式.围绕真空紫外超短脉冲的产生及其在超短动力学中应用展开,介绍了产生真空紫外超短脉冲的高斯谐波、空心光纤四波混频和光丝四波混频的方法,对其优缺点作了评述,并对真空紫外超短脉冲激光在超快动力学过程中的应用进行了简单的总结.     

Significance of intra-cavity power density in synchronous mode-locking of CW-dye lasers

It is shown that there is a well-defined relation between the intra-cavity power density and the temporal structure of ultrashort light pulses generated by a synchronously pumped cw dye laser. To obtain pulses of good quality with high output power the beam cross-section in the lasing medium must be large, because the best performance is achieved at low power density.     

Transient dynamics of charged particles interacting with localized waves of continuous spectra

A modified canonical perturbation method is employed for analyzing the charged particle dynamics as they interact with localized waves with continuous spectrum. In contrast with periodic Hamiltonian models, where the method has already been applied in a multitude of respective systems, the system in hand is inherently aperiodic. The localized waves have the form of amplitude modulated electrostatic fields, ranging from ordinary wave packets to ultrashort pulses. The analytically obtained approximate invariants of the motion contain rich information for the structure of the phase space and the respective distribution functions.     

Ultrashort Optical Pulses and Their Generation in Resonant Media (Scientific Summary)

JETP Letters - Our recent studies of methods for obtaining ultrashort light pulses and analysis of the impact of ultrashort optical pulses on classical and quantum micro-objects with the...     

Systematic study of highly efficient white light generation in transparent materials using intense femtosecond laser pulses

We report the results of a systematic study of white light generation in different high band-gap optical media (BaF₂, acrylic, water and BK-7 glass) using ultrashort (45 fs) laser pulses. We have investigated the influence of different parameters, such as focal position of the incident laser light within the medium, the polarization state of the incident laser radiation and the pulse duration of the incident laser beam on the white light generation. Our results indicate that for intense, ultrashort pulses, the position of physical focus inside the media is crucial in the generation, with high efficiency, of white light spectra over the wavelength range 400–1100 nm. Linearly polarized incident laser light generates white light with higher intensity in the blue region than circularly polarized light. Ultrashort (45 fs) pulses generate a flatter spectrum with higher white light conversion efficiency than longer (300 fs) pulses of the same laser power. We believe that a flat response over a wide range of wavelengths in the continuum may be efficiently compressed for generation of sub-10 fs pulses. PACS 52.38.Hb; 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Tg; 33.80.Wz; 52.35.Mw     

Mode-locked lasers and ultrashort light pulses

This article reviews some aspects of the generation of very short optical pulses using mode-locked lasers, with the emphasis laid on pulsed laser systems. Active and passive mode-locking is discussed, and the problem of measuring ultrashort light pulses is considered. A survey of some commonly used sources and techniques for the generation of ultrashort light pulses follows. The paper concludes with a short account of limitations in the generation and propagation of these pulses.     

Spin orientation of electrons by unpolarized light pulses in low-symmetry quantum wells

The spin dynamics of electrons in low-symmetry quantum wells (QWs) under conditions of interband excitation by ultrashort unpolarized light pulses is investigated. It is shown that after the transmission, spin polarization appears in the system after a time comparable with the electron momentum relaxation time for an electron pulse and then vanishes. The microscopic theory of spin orientation of electrons by optical pulses carrying zero angular momentum is developed for asymmetric QWs grown from semiconductors with the zinc blende lattice along the [110] crystallographic direction. Pumping with unpolarized light in such structures in the normal incidence geometry induces a spin in the QW plane along the [1[`1]0][1\bar 10] axis.     

Two-Dimensional Light Bullets in a Medium with Inhomogeneous Density of Carbon Nanotubes

Physics of the Solid State - The theoretical problem of propagation dynamics of ultrashort optical pulses (light bullets) in a medium with inhomogeneous density of carbon nanotubes is considered....