Accurate determination of the absolute phase and temporal-pulse phase of few-cycle laser pulses

A Fourier analysis method is used to accurately determine not only the absolute phase but also the temporal-pulse phase of an isolated few-cycle (chirped) laser pulse. This method is independent of the pulse shape and can fully characterize the light wave even though only a few samples per optical cycle are available. It paves the way for investigating the absolute phase-dependent extreme nonlinear optics, and the evolutions of the absolute phase and the temporal-pulse phase of few-cycle laser pulses.     

Phase-dependent ionization in the barrier suppression regime

Here the dependence of atomic ionization on the absolute phase of sub-10-fs pulses in the barrier suppression regime is investigated. The results obtained show that it is possible to find a parameter range for the laser pulse where the phase dependence of the ionization after the pulse is a nonoscillating curve with a well defined minimum (or maximum). This effect is explained by a simple model based on the assumption that in this regime the ionization is dominated by the electrons ejected when the field exceeds the critical value for suppression of the Coulomb barrier. These findings can be used to design phase-dependent absorbers with a potential application to stabilize the absolute phase into the cavity of a femtosecond laser, which is of major importance for extreme nonlinear optics.     

Ionization Dynamics of 1D Model Atom in Ultra-Strong lω-2ω Laser Fields

We investigate the ionization dynamics of 1D model atom in ultra-strong dichromatic lω-2ω laser fields with a constant phase difference. We find numerically that both the total ionization and the distribution between forward and backward rates show clear phasedependent character. This phenomenon can be explained by the first-order high frequency Floquet theory. Finally, this phase-dependent character is testified u;ith pulsed laser fields provided the pulse is smoothly (adiabatically) turned on.     

Carrier--envelope phase effects for a dipolar molecule interacting with ultrashort laser pulse

In this paper the phase-dependent features of ultrashort laser pulse resonant propagation in a two-level dipolar molecule are demonstrated by solving full Maxwell--Bloch equations. The electronic properties of dipolar molecule 4-trans-[p-(N, N-Di-n-butylamino)-p -stilbenylvinyl] pyridine (DBASVP) molecule, one-dimensional asymmetric organic molecule, is calculated by density functional theory at \textit{ab initio} level. The numerical results show that the carrier propagation and the spectrum evolution of the pulse are sensitive to its initial phase and the phase sensitivity is more obvious for larger area pulse. The phase-dependent feature is more evident in dipolar molecule because the permanent dipole moment makes the nonlinear effects stronger.     

超短激光脉冲驱动的Thomson散射空间分布特性

研究了超短激光脉冲驱动的Thomson散射的辐射空间分布. 发现辐射的空间分布对称性显著地依赖于超短脉冲的载波相位η₀，在η₀＝0，π时，辐射的空间分布呈现出二重或一重对称性；而在其他载波相位时，这些空间分布对称性遭到破坏. 辐射光的准直性也依赖于驱动脉冲的载波相位，在η₀＝±π/2时辐射光的准直性最好. 这些结果表明可以通过改变驱动激光脉冲的载波相位来控制辐射光的空间分布，也可以利用辐射空间分布对相位的依赖特性来测量超短激光脉冲的载波相位. 关键词： Thomson散射 空间分布 载波相位     

Gouy phase shift for few-cycle laser pulses

We measured for the first time the influence of the Gouy effect on focused few-cycle laser pulses. The carrier-envelope phase is shown to undergo a smooth variation over a few Rayleigh distances. This result is of critical importance for any application of ultrashort laser pulses, including high-harmonic and attosecond pulse generation, as well as phase-dependent effects.     

Phase-dependent electron-ion recombination in a microwave field

Using picosecond laser photoionization of Li in a microwave field we have observed phase-dependent reccombination of the photoelectrons with their parent Li+ ions. Recombination occurs at phases of the microwave field such that energy is removed from the photoelectron in the first microwave cycle after excitation, and there are two maxima in the recombination in each microwave cycle. These observations are consistent with observations made using an attosecond pulse train phase locked to an infrared pulse and with the "simpleman's" model, modified to account for the fact that the photoelectrons are produced in a Coulomb potential.     

Carrier-envelope phase dependence of the duration of generated solitons for few-cycle rectangular laser pulses propagation

We investigate the nonlinear propagation of few-cycle rectangular laser pulses on resonant intersubband transitions in semiconductor quantum wells using an iterative predictor–corrector finite-difference time-domain method. An initial 2π rectangular pulse will split into Sommerfeld–Brillouin precursors and a self-induced transparency soliton during the course of propagation. The duration of generated soliton depends on the carrier-envelope phase of the incident pulse. In our case, not only the near-resonant frequency components but also the low frequency components could contribute to the generation of the soliton pulse when the condition of multi-photon resonance is satisfied. The phase-sensitive property of the solitons results from the phase-dependent distribution of high and low frequency sidebands of few-cycle rectangular pulses.     

Single-beam homodyne SPIDER for multiphoton microscopy

We report a new version of spectral phase interferometry for direct electric field reconstruction (SPIDER) requiring only a single phase-shaped laser beam. A narrowband probe pulse is selected out of a broadband ultrafast laser pulse by a phase pulse-shaping technique and mixed with the original broadband pulse to generate a second-harmonic generation (SHG) signal. Using another SHG signal solely generated by the broadband pulse as a local oscillator, the spectral phase of the broadband laser pulse can be analytically retrieved by a combination of double-quadrature spectral interferometry and homodyne optical technique for SPIDER (HOT SPIDER). An arbitrary spectral phase at the sample position of a microscope can be compensated with a precision of 0.05 rad over the FWHM of the laser spectrum. It is readily applicable to a nonlinear microscopy technique with a phase-controlled broadband laser pulse.     

Ionization phase-match gating for wavelength-tunable isolated attosecond pulse generation

High-order harmonic emission can be confined to the leading edge of an 800 nm driver laser pulse under moderately intense focusing conditions (7×10¹⁴ W/cm²) (Pfeifer et al. in Opt. Express 15:17120, 2007). Here, the experimentally observed curtailment of harmonic production on the leading edge of the driver pulse is shown to be controlled by an ionization-induced phase-matching condition. The transient plasma density inherent to the process of high-harmonic generation terminates the harmonic emission by an ultrafast loss of phase matching on the leading edge of the laser pulse. The analysis is supported by a reconstruction of the in situ intensity envelope of the driver pulse with attosecond temporal resolution, performed by measurements of the carrier-envelope phase dependence of individual half-cycle harmonic cutoffs. The method opens the way to wavelength-tunable isolated attosecond pulse generation.     

Feedback-controlled femtosecond pulse shaping

We describe the experimental implementation of feedback-optimized femtosecond laser pulse shaping. A frequency-domain phase shaper is combined with different pulse characterization methods and appropriate optimization algorithms to compensate for any phase deviation. In particular, bandwidth-limited, amplified laser pulses are achieved by maximizing the second-harmonic generation (SHG) of the shaped laser pulses with the aid of an evolutionary algorithm. Real-time measurement of the absolute phases is achieved with spectral interferometry where the reference pulse is characterized by FROG, the so-called TADPOLE method. Using the complete electric field as feedback, arbitrary laser pulse shapes can be optimally generated in two different ways. First, a local convergence algorithm can be used to apply reliable and accurate spectral chirps. Second, an evolutionary algorithm can be employed to reach specific temporal profiles.     

基于多光子脉冲内干涉相位扫描法对飞秒激光脉冲进行相位测量和补偿的研究

研制了一套基于多光子脉冲内干涉相位扫描方法的可以同时对飞秒激光脉冲进行相位测量和补偿的实验系统装置.实验中,通过自主研发的LabVIEW程序控制液晶空间光调制器和光纤光谱仪,对待测飞秒激光脉冲施加相位扫描,并同时记录受到调制的飞秒激光脉冲的倍频光谱,得到了多光子脉冲内干涉相位扫描(MIIPS)轨迹图.通过MIIPS轨迹图的三次测量和迭代运算,还原出了经过预先啁啾调制的中心波长约为810 nm、重复频率为1 kHz的飞秒激光脉冲的光谱相位,测量精度在0.1 rad以内.根据测量结果,利用液晶空间光调制器对该飞秒激光脉冲进行相位补偿,得到了近似傅里叶变换极限的飞秒激光脉冲.这一装置将在多光子显微成像、脉冲整形、飞秒激光光谱学等众多领域发挥重要作用.     

Loss enhanced phase locking in coupled oscillators

Phase locking, which is achieved by transferring some energy from one oscillator to the others, strongly depends on the coupling strength between the oscillators. Typically, the coupling strength must be above a certain threshold in order to achieve phase locking. Here we show how this threshold can be significantly reduced when phase-dependent losses are introduced into the oscillators. Specifically, the coupling strength can be reduced by at least an order of magnitude, thereby substantially decreasing the needed transfer of energy between oscillators. The resulting enhancement of phase locking does not only influence the laser research area, but also affects many other areas that involve coupled ensembles.     

Effect of Carried-Envelope Phase on Transient Process in a Cascade-Type System

This paper investigates the effect of carried-envelope phase on transient process in a cascade-type atomic system, which is driven by two ultrashort laser pulses （probe and signal laser）. It is found that the one- and two-photon processes corresponding to pathway ｜0〉→｜1〉and ｜0〉→｜1〉→｜2〉 can be enhanced or ,suppressed by modulating the carried-envelope phases of probe laser pulse. Our numerical results also show that the transient populations of two excited states can be periodically affected by the carried-envelope phase of probe laser pulse. With certain time, the partial population transfer between two exited states can be realized just by adjusting the carried-envelope phase of probe laser pulse.     

Characterization of a broadband pulse for phase controlled multiphoton microscopy by single beam SPIDER

We present what we believe to be a new version of spectral phase interferometry for direct electric field reconstruction (SPIDER) using only a single-phase and polarization controlled laser beam. Two narrow pulses and one broadband pulse are selected out of an ultrafast laser pulse by a polarization and phase control technique to generate second harmonic generation (SHG) signals, which are equivalent to a spectral shear interferogram in the conventional SPIDER method. The spectral phase of the broadband laser pulse is extracted analytically with double quadrature spectral interferometry (DQSI). An arbitrary spectral phase can be retrieved with great precision and compensated in situ at the sample position of a microscope. This new method requires no separate reference beam and is suitable for nonlinear optical microscopy with a phase controlled laser pulse.     

Spatial, temporal and spectral emission characteristics from electron oscillation driven by an intense circularly polarized few-cycle laser pulse

The spatial, temporal and spectral emission characteristics of radiation generated from electron oscillations driven by an intense circularly polarized few-cycle laser pulse have been investigated theoretically and numerically using a single electron model. For a femtosecond driving laser pulse with duration of one optical cycle, the maximal radiation emitted by the electron comprises only one electromagnetic pulse having durations much shorter than the optical cycle and belonging to the attosecond range. It is discovered that the influence of the initial phase on the process of full spatial characteristics of the radiation is apparent for intense few-cycle laser pulse. The characteristics can be used to measure the initial phase of intense circularly polarized few-cycle laser pulse in experiments.     

激光对金属铜微孔加工的热力学过程研究

采用纳秒激光脉冲对铜金属进行了打孔实验,对微孔形貌进行了观察并对其热力学过程进行了相应的分析。研究表明,微孔的形貌是由凹坑和周围隆起组成,坑深随着脉冲能量的增加而增加。热力学分析表明,激光辐照金属打孔需要两个基本条件：一是激光脉冲能量的沉积,使金属材料发生熔化、汽化以及电离等相变,使得材料更容易去除;激光等离子体作为二次热源会更有效把激光脉冲能量耦合到金属表面;二是激光等离子体的冲击波效应,这种效应会把发生相变的材料有效及时排出,从而有效形成微孔。     

All-optical noninvasive control of unstable steady states in a semiconductor laser

All-optical noninvasive control of a multisection semiconductor laser by means of time-delayed feedback from an external Fabry-Perot cavity is realized experimentally. A theoretical analysis, in both a generic model as well as a device-specific simulation, points out the role of the optical phase. Using phase-dependent feedback we demonstrate stabilization of the continuous-wave laser output and noninvasive suppression of intensity pulsations.     

调Q激光光折变自适应光外差探测技术研究

基于光折变晶体中自泵浦与互泵浦相位共轭共存效应,利用新型光折变自适应光外差探测系统进行了调Q脉冲激光的光折变自适应光外差探测技术研究.结果表明,该系统可以用来实现单纵模调Q脉冲激光的自适应光外差探测,并可以通过提高本振光强度有效地提高外差探测灵敏度.进一步的实验和理论分析表明,对于一般的调Q脉冲激光,由于其各个纵模频谱分量之间不相关,难于实现光外差探测.     

基于光纤中SBS相位共轭的自调Q光纤激光器

分析了利用光纤中的受激布里渊散射(stimulated Brillouin scattering,SBS)相位共轭效应进行激光腔内调Q,产生ns量级脉冲激光的原理,并对利用该效应产生的激光脉冲波形和脉冲形成过程进行了数值模拟,得到的脉冲波形与SBS相位共轭反射率随时间变化曲线基本一致,表明利用光纤中的SBS相位共轭作用调Q具有可行性.据此,对采用单模光纤(single-mode fiber,SMF)作为SBS池的Er³⁺掺杂调Q光纤激光器进行实验研究.当单模光纤长度为1.5 m时,在45 mW的光抽运功率下得到脉宽约2.6ns,脉冲周期58.23ns,平均功率7.35mW的激光脉冲.进一步的研究表明:激光器中相位共轭镜的形成与SBS介质长度有关,SBS介质过长,斯托克斯线之间无固定的相位关系,不能形成相干叠加,SBS相位共轭腔不能形成;SBS介质过短,腔内正交偏振模光子寿命的改变使脉冲出现双峰现象.脉冲形成后其属性只与SBS动态属性有关.