CC BY
11ALT'22
LD-I-10
LASER DIAGNOSTICS AND SPECTROSCOPY
Nonlinear optical dynamics of gigawatt single-cycle phase-stable pulses generated in hollow-core photonic-crystal fiber
I.V. Savitsky1, E.A. Stepanov1-2, A.A. Voronin12 A.A. Lanin12, A.B. Fedotov12, A.M. Zheltikov1'2'3
1 - Physics Department, M.V. Lomonosov State University, Moscow, Russia 2 - Russian Quantum Center, Skolkovo, Moscow Region, Russia 3 - Department of Physics and Astronomy, Texas A&M University, College Station, USA
a.b.fedotov@physics.msu.ru
High-peak power mid-infrared (mid-IR) and short-wavelength-infrared (SWIR) pulses with a pulse width t0 close to the carrier field cycle T0 provide a powerful resource for ultrafast optical science and advanced photonic technologies [1]. Because the photon energy hw0 of such T0-nigh SWIR/mid-IR pulses is below the band gap Eg of most of the technologically relevant solid-state semiconductor materials, these pulses, unlike their near-infrared counterparts, can drive and probe ultrafast electron dynamics not only near the surface, but also deep inside solid-state semiconductors, serving to set an unprecedentedly precise control over the fastest physical processes in solids [2] and helping induce and gate ultrafast electric-current transients in solids as a route toward petahertz optoelectronics [3].
In this work we have shown that soliton self-compression in a suitably designed gas-filled AR-guiding hollow-core fiber provides a source of ultrashort near-to-mid-IR field waveforms with a pulse energy up to 28 J peak power up to 4 GW, and a pulse width smoothly tunable, via gas-pressure adjustment inside the gas-filled hollow fiber, all the way down to a single field cycle at < 6.6 fs. With an active carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilization extended to its entire multioctave bandwidth, the single-cycle near-to-mid-IR fiber output is CEP-stable within 140 mrad and can be finely tailored toward a desired CEP profile. High-order harmonics generated by such field waveforms in solids exhibit clear signatures of a strong-field, nonperturbative impulsive response to a single-cycle optical driver.
This research was supported by RSF Grants # 20-12-00088, # 22-12-00149 and RFBR Grant # 20-21-00131.
1000 1500 2000 2500 3000
Wavelength, nm
a) X-SEA-F-SPIDER interferogram of the near-to-mid-IR supercontinuum output of the hollow AR fiber. (b) Spectral intensity retrieved from X-SEA-SPIDER measurements along with the spectral phase and (c) the field waveform along
with its pulse envelope at the output of the hollow AR fiber.
[1] Balciunas, T.; Fourcade-Dutin, C.; Fan, G.; Witting, T.; Voronin, A. A.; Zheltikov, A. M.; Gerome, F.; Paulus, G. G.; Baltuska, A.; Benabid, F. A strong-field driver in the single-cycle regime based on self-compression in a kagome fibre. Nat. Commun. , 6, No. 6117, (2015).
[2] Ghimire, S.; DiChiara, A. D.; Sistrunk, E.; Agostini, P.; DiMauro, L. F.; Reis, D. A. Observation of high-order harmonic generation in a bulk crystal. Nat. Phys. , 7, 138-141, (2011).
[3] JSchiffrin, A.; Paasch-Colberg, T.; Karpowicz, N.; Apalkov, V.; Gerster, D.; Muhlbrandt, S.; Korbman, M.; Reichert, J.; Schultze, M.; Holzner, S.; Barth, J. V.; Kienberger, R.; Ernstorfer, R.; Yakovlev, V. S.; Stockman, M. I.; Krausz, F. Optical-field-induced current in dielectrics. Nature, 493, 70-74, (2013).
