Ultrabroadband continuum generated in air (down to 230 nm) using ultrashort and intense laser pulses

We present results on supercontinuum generation extended up to 230 nm in air during the propagation of a powerful femtosecond laser pulse. The broad supercontinuum generated in air is contributed by self-phase modulation and self-steepening of the fundamental laser pulse, the third-harmonic pulse and their interaction. In particular, the strong interaction between the fundamental and the third-harmonic pulses leads to broad and efficient continuum generation of the third-harmonic pulse itself. The spectrum of the third-harmonic generated in air extends over several tens of nm and overlaps with the shorter wavelength extent of the fundamental continuum. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Jx; 52.35.Mw     

Self-stabilization of third-harmonic pulse during two-color filamentation in gases

Self-stabilization of the laser pulse parameters is demonstrated during the two-color filamentation of ultrashort and intense laser pulses in gases. Experimental data and results of numerical simulations show, in good qualitative agreement, that the root-mean-square values of the intensity fluctuations decrease below the initial value for the near-infrared pump pulse and the perturbative limit for the third-harmonic pulse in the filament. It is found that the stabilization of the third-harmonic intensity and energy are due to intensity clamping of the pump pulse and a constant ‘volume’ of the laser pulse during the nonlinear propagation inside the filament. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.65.Jx; 52.35.Mw     

Effect of pulse slippage on density transition-based resonant third-harmonic generation of short-pulse laser in plasma

The resonant third-harmonic generation of a self-focusing laser in plasma with a density transition was investigated. Because of self-focusing of the fundamental laser pulse, a transverse intensity gradient was created, which generated a plasma wave at the fundamental wave frequency. Phase matching was satisfied by using a Wiggler magnetic field, which provided additional angular momentum to the third-harmonic photon to make the process resonant. An enhancement was observed in the resonant third-harmonic generation of an intense short-pulse laser in plasma embedded with a magnetic Wiggler with a density transition. A plasma density ramp played an important role in the self-focusing, enhancing the third-harmonic generation in plasma. We also examined the effect of the Wiggler magnetic field on the pulse slippage of the third-harmonic pulse in plasma. The pulse slippage was due to the group-velocity mismatch between the fundamental and third-harmonic pulses.     

Long-range spectrally and spatially resolved radiation from filaments in air

The distance-resolved spectral intensity distribution of the backscattered light from long filaments generated in air using ultra-short and intense laser pulses is presented. A clean fluorescence spectrum from N₂ molecules and ions, which is produced by the high peak intensity inside the plasma filament of the fundamental pulse, was clearly resolved from the backscattered supercontinuum. The supercontinuum generated by both the fundamental and the third-harmonic pulses developed progressively and became fully developed only at the end of the filamentation.     

Self-transformation of a powerful femtosecond laser pulse into a white-light laser pulse in bulk optical media (or supercontinuum generation)

We present experimental and theoretical results on white-light generation in the filamentation of a high-power femtosecond laser pulse in water and atmospheric air. We have shown that the high spatio-temporal localization of the light field in the filament, which enables the supercontinuum generation, is sustained due to the dynamic transformation of the light field on the whole transverse scale of the beam, including its edges. We found that the sources of the supercontinuum blue wing are in the rings, surrounding the filament, as well as at the back of the pulse, where shock-wave formation enhanced by self-steepening takes place. We report on the first observation and demonstration of the interference of the supercontinuum spectral components arising in the course of multiple filamentation in a terawatt laser pulse. We demonstrate that the conversion efficiency of an initially narrow laser pulse spectrum into the supercontinuum depends on the length of the filament with high intensity gradients and can be increased by introducing an initial chirp. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Re; 42.25.Bs; 42.50.Hz     

Spatial optimization of filaments

We demonstrate the spatial homogenization of intense laser pulses by adaptive minimization of spatial chirp of the spectrally broadened output pulses of a filament. A liquid-crystal-based two-dimensional spatial light modulator is used to control the spatial phase of the driver pulse. An evolutionary algorithm finds the optimal spatial laser phase distribution that introduces minimal distortions during filamentation and enhances the beam quality of the output pulse. A homogeneous intensity distribution favours efficient temporal compression close to the bandwidth limit without the need for spatial filtering after the filament. PACS 42.65.-k; 42.65.Re; 41.85.Ct     

Comparison of the filamentation and the hollow-core fiber characteristics for pulse compression into the few-cycle regime

The gas-filled hollow-core fiber compression and the optical filamentation technique are compared experimentally in a parameter regime suitable for intense few-cycle pulse generation. In particular, pointing stability, spectral properties, and spatial chirp are investigated. It is found that in the case of filamentation, the critical parameter for pointing stability is gas pressure inside the generation cell whereas for the hollow-core fiber it is alignment that plays this role. The hollow-core fiber technique yields spectra that are better suited for chirped-mirror pulse compression whereas filamentation offers higher throughput and prospects for easy-to-implement self-compression. We present spectral phase interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction (SPIDER) measurements that directly show the transition in the spectral phase of the output continua into the self-compression regime as the gas pressure is increased. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Tg     

Third-harmonic generation and self-channeling in air using high-power femtosecond laser pulses

It is shown, both theoretically and experimentally, that during laser pulse filamentation in air an intense ultrashort third-harmonic pulse is generated forming a two-colored filament. The third-harmonic pulse maintains both its peak intensity and energy over distances much longer than the characteristic coherence length. We argue that this is due to a nonlinear phase-locking mechanism between the two pulses in the filament and is independent of the initial material wave-vector mismatch. A rich spatiotemporal propagation dynamics of the third-harmonic pulse is predicted. Potential applications of this phenomenon to other parametric processes are discussed.     

Simulation of third-harmonic and supercontinuum generation for femtosecond pulses in air

Numerical simulations of third-harmonic and supercontinuum generation for femtosecond pulses propagating in air are presented which, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, do not rely on the decomposition of the total field into slowly-varying fields centered around the fundamental and third-harmonic. The simulation results are interpreted using an effective three-wave mixing approach, and together they provide new insights into the relation between third-harmonic and supercontinuum radiation. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Ky; 52.35.Mw     

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     

Role of the carrier-envelope phase in laser filamentation

We numerically study the influence of the initial carrier-envelope phase (CEP) on the filamentation of ultrashort laser pulses in noble gas. Emphasis is put on the CEP-induced changes of pulses that reach their clamping intensity during near-cycle self-compression. In other propagation regimes, the CEP does not significantly alter the pulse evolution. Our results indicate that third-harmonic generation, compared to plasma generation, is dominant in driving these changes. Finally, the stability of the filament CEP against shot-to-shot fluctuations is examined.     

Evolution of a super-broadened spectrum in a filament generated by an ultrashort intense laser pulse in fused silica

We report experimental and theoretical investigations of the evolution of super-broadened spectrum generation by intense 50-fs pulses propagating in bulk fused silica. Based on good agreement between the experimental results and numerical simulations, a mechanism of supercontinuum generation (SCG) is proposed. At first, both self-phase modulation (SPM) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) contribute substantially but slowly to the broadening before filament formation takes place. After filamentation, a plasma grows rapidly and asymmetric spectral broadening results in a blue-shifted spectrum extending to about 400 nm. A time-resolved experiment of the SCG was also performed using a double-pump technique. The temporal behavior suggests that the vibrational mode excited by the stimulated Raman process by the first pulse contributes to the occurrence of self-focusing. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.25.Bs     

Tunable pulses from below 300 to 970 nm with durations down to 14 fs based on a 2 MHz ytterbium-doped fiber system

A noncollinearly phase-matched optical parametric amplifier pumped by a commercial 2 MHz fiber laser is presented and discussed. The pump system allows the direct generation of a seed continuum from a sapphire plate. Clean pulses with up to 860 nJ energy and down to 14 fs pulse length can be obtained over a fundamental tuning range from 620 to 970 nm. Conversion by second- and third-harmonic generation as well as sum frequency mixing results in an extended tuning range down to well below 300 nm.     

Accurate time delay determination for femtosecond X-ray diffraction experiments

Intensity correlations and noise reduction are observed and characterized in the broadband supercontinuum generated by spatio-temporal solitons propagating in air, i.e., in filamentation of ultrashort laser pulses. Large correlations and reduction of the laser noise are observed already at the first steps of the filamentation process, while further propagation results in cascaded χ⁽³⁾ broadening processes and yield complex correlation maps. The spectral range yielding an optimal laser noise reduction of 3.6 dB is found to cover 10 nm around the fundamental wavelength. PACS 42.65.Jx; 42.65.Tg; 42.65.Ky; 42.50.Lc     

Generation of high harmonics and attosecond pulses with ultrashort laser pulse filaments and conical waves

Results illustrating the nonlinear dynamics of ultrashort laser pulse filamentation in gases are presented, with particular emphasis on the filament properties useful for developing attosecond light sources. Two aspects of ultrashort pulse filaments are specifically discussed: (i) numerical simulation results on pulse self-compression by filamentation in a gas cell filled with noble gas. Measurements of high harmonics generated by the pulse extracted from the filament allows for the detection of intensity spikes and subcycle pulses generated within the filament. (ii) Simulation results on the spontaneous formation of conical wavepackets during filamentation in gases, which in turn can be used as efficient driving pulses for the generation of high harmonics and isolated attosecond pulses.     

Generation of accurately synchronized pump source for optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

We demonstrate the generation of ultra-short pulses at 1064 nm by continuous-wave seeded non-collinear optical parametric amplification in a -barium borate crystal pumped by the second harmonics of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser. After two stages of seeded parametric amplifiers, the generated pulses at 1064 nm were accurately synchronized with the fundamental pump pulses, which could be used as seeding pulses for further amplification and then frequency doubling to produce an accurately synchronized pump source for optical parametric amplification of chirped pulses from the same Ti:sapphire laser. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.65.-k; 52.35.Mw     

High-power third-harmonic flat pulse laser generation

The generation of a high-power laser pulse at 266 nm that is longitudinally shaped according to a prefixed intensity profile is reported. The main features of the pulse shape modifications due to second- and third-harmonic conversions are measured, and the results are in good agreement with the theory. The UV temporal shape depends on the chirp of the fundamental pulse and on the crystal phase-matching angle. Exploiting the large stretching imposed on the third-harmonic signal, we show that the pulse intensity profile can be obtained by spectral single-shot measurements.     

Tunable light sources based on high harmonics generation for time-resolved VUV spectroscopy

The project of set-up for time resolved femtosecond VUV spectroscopy, which is based on a high harmonic generation source and a VUV monochromator is presented. We discuss the generation conditions of quasi-continuous VUV spectrum via HHG in Ar using the intense chirped IR fundamental pulse and the relatively weak second harmonic of IR fundamental. The desired narrow VUV spectral range is selected by time compensated double monochromator with concave spherical diffraction gratings. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.79.Dj; 78.47.+p; 39.30.+w     

Rectangular pulse formation in a laser harmonic generation

In a harmonic generation process the temporal profile of the up-converted pulse undergoes significative changes depending on the input profile and crystal length. A simple theoretical treatment and the corresponding physical view are presented. The matter and the properties of two shaping systems are investigated in view of producing rectangular up-converted pulses, as required by laser driven radio-frequency electron sources. PACS 42.65.Re; 42.65.k; 42.79.Hp     

High-order harmonics extension and isolated attosecond pulse generation in three-color field: Controlling factors

In the present Letter, we theoretically discuss the optimum conditions for generating ultrashort attosecond pulse in three-color field with a model He exposed to the intense 5 fs, 800 nm fundamental field and the two weak control fields of 25 fs, 400 nm and 25 fs, 1600 nm. Through investigating the controlling factors in HHG spectra generation via manipulating the laser parameters of the three fields, we demonstrate that properly increasing the pulse intensity of 800 nm and 1600 nm fields at the same time with zero phase effects is an effective way to generate short attosecond pulses. Finally, an isolated pulse of 7 as is predicted by Fourier transforming an ultrabroad XUV continuum of 393 eV with phase compensation.