Frontiers in Ultrashort Pulse Generation: Pushing the Limits in Linear and Nonlinear Optics

Steinmeyer, Günter; Sutter, Dirk; Gallmann, L.; Matuschek, N.; Keller, U.

doi:10.1126/science.286.5444.1507

Cited by 367 publications

(204 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Current methods for ultra-short pulse generation and compression already push the limits of the linear and nonlinear optics of conventional materials (5). Further developments on ultraintense lasers must then be based on the nonlinear optics of plasmas (the medium capable of handling high-power densities and heat loads) at relativistic intensities (9).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation of ultra-intense single-cycle laser pulses by using photon deceleration

Tsung

Ren

Silva

et al. 2001

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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A scheme to generate single-cycle laser pulses is presented based on photon deceleration in underdense plasmas. This robust and tunable process is ideally suited for lasers above critical power because it takes advantage of the relativistic self-focusing of these lasers and the nonlinear features of the plasma wake. The mechanism is demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations in three and 2 1 ⁄2 dimensions, resulting in pulse shortening up to a factor of 4, thus making it feasible to generate few-femtosecond single-cycle pulses in the optical to IR domain with intensities I > 10 20 W͞cm 2 by using present-day laser technology.T he quest for attosecond laser pulses is at the forefront of research in laser physics (1-3). Pulses in the attosecond range may give rise to the development of attoelectronics, making it possible to study the dynamics and to control electronic processes in biology, chemistry, and solid-state physics, in the same way femtosecond laser technology led to femtochemistry (1). On the other hand, state-of-the art ultra-intense lasers can deliver up to 1 PW, with pulse durations from 500 fs down to 18 fs, at 800 nm to 1 m (4). Two paths toward attosecond pulses can be identified; the first one, associated with solid-state laser oscillator technology (5), has pushed the limit of the shortest laser pulse down to 4.5 fs in the near-IR to visible domain. At these wavelengths, breaking the attosecond threshold implies the generation of subcycle pulses (6, 7). The other path is based on the careful combination of some of the short wavelength harmonics generated in the ionization of a rare gas by intense femtosecond laser pulses (8), leading to 100-as extreme UV pulses (3). The possibility of producing even shorter single-cycle, ultra-intense pulses opens the way to new unexplored physics and the possibility of generating ultra-intense attosecond pulses (3).Current methods for ultra-short pulse generation and compression already push the limits of the linear and nonlinear optics of conventional materials (5). Further developments on ultraintense lasers must then be based on the nonlinear optics of plasmas (the medium capable of handling high-power densities and heat loads) at relativistic intensities (9). An example is, for instance, the plasma equivalent of the optical parametric amplifier (10), recently introduced by Shvets et al. (11).In this article, we propose a method to further shorten the existing shortest pulses to ultra-intense single-cycle pulses. This method is based on the frequency downshift (or photon deceleration) experienced by a laser pulse in a plasma because of the combined self-interaction with the relativistic mass nonlinearity and the laser wake field (12). The photon frequency downshift is accompanied by the conservation of the total wave action, leading to a strong enhancement of the laser field vector potential (13). Relativistic self-focusing also provides an additional amplification of the peak laser field. Using threedimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) particle-in-cel...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation of ultra-intense single-cycle laser pulses by using photon deceleration

Tsung

Ren

Silva

et al. 2001

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…1.6·10 20 cm -3 . 6 Within few femtoseconds Auger decay and autoionization converts the initial inner shell excitation 39 into twice the number of valence excitations (~ 3·10 20 cm -3 ) and finally equilibration to the mean energy of electron-hole pair creation in GaAs of 4.2 eV 40 produces an electron-hole pair density of 1.5·10 21 cm -3 . With optical laser excitation at and above the optical damage-threshold photo-generated free carriers exceeding 10 20 cm -3 lead to similar ΔR/R transients as we find for X-ray excitation below the damage threshold.…”

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confidence: 99%

A femtosecond X-ray/optical cross-correlator

Azima²,

et al. 2008

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“…he effect of random perturbations in optical fibers increasingly attracts attention as the demand for the quality of transmission grows daily (1,2). The impact of randomness on signal transmission in a single-mode fiber is negative; it causes degradation of the signal and lowers transmission capabilities.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…, where a 2 b 2 ϭ d 0 (a is the peak amplitude, b is the pulse width, b is inversely proportional to bit-rate) is an exact soliton solution of [1]. The existence of the soliton (15) is the result of a dynamic equilibrium between dispersion and nonlinearity: the two spatial scales-nonlinearity, z NL ϭ 1͞a 2 and dispersion, z d ϭ b 2 ͞d 0 -coincide.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pulse Confinement in Optical Fibers with Random Dispersion

Chertkov

Gabitov

Moeser

2001

Nonlinearity and Disorder: Theory and Applications

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Short-range correlated uniform noise in the dispersion coefficient, inherent in many types of optical fibers, broadens and eventually destroys all initially ultra-short pulses. However, under the constraint that the integral of the random component of the dispersion coefficient is set to zero (pinned), periodically or quasiperiodically along the fiber, the dynamics of the pulse propagation changes dramatically. For the case that randomness is present in addition to constant positive dispersion, the pinning restriction significantly reduces average pulse broadening. If the randomness is present in addition to piece-wise constant periodic dispersion with positive residual value, the pinning may even provide probability distributions of pulse parameters that are numerically indistinguishable from the statistically steady case. The pinning method can be used to both manufacture better fibers and upgrade existing fiber links. The effect of random perturbations in optical fibers increasingly attracts attention as the demand for the quality of transmission grows daily (1, 2). The impact of randomness on signal transmission in a single-mode fiber is negative; it causes degradation of the signal and lowers transmission capabilities. In particular, amplifier noise (3-6) and random fiber birefringence (7-11) lead to random shifts in the pulse position (timing jitter) and to pulse broadening, respectively. Both effects eventually cause a destruction of bit patterns and lead to an increase of the bit-error-rate (BER), the most important parameter describing performance in fiber communications systems (12).In the present paper, we consider the effect of random dispersion, which is, for ultrashort pulses, one of the major causes of bit-pattern destruction. However, we propose a way to significantly reduce the pulse deterioration and eventually reduce the BER caused by the noise in dispersion by using passive (independent of pulse properties) periodic control of the accumulated dispersion of the fiber link. The method may even provide statistically steady propagation of the pulse along the fiber and gives insight into general understanding of control mechanisms for nonlinear systems with randomness.Chromatic dispersion is an important characteristic of a medium and can significantly degrade the integrity of wave packets. In practice, chromatic dispersion is not uniformly distributed and often exhibits random variations in space and time. On the other hand, wave propagation through the medium is usually much faster than temporal variations of the chromatic dispersion. Therefore, these random variations can be treated as ''spatial'' multiplicative noise that does not change in time. This multiplicative noise is conservative, and the wave energy remains constant during propagation through the medium. Recently, high-precision measurements of fiber chromatic dispersion as a function of a fiber length experimentally demonstrated the significance of the dispersion randomness (13,14).The overall chromatic dispersion in an optical fiber...

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Frontiers in Ultrashort Pulse Generation: Pushing the Limits in Linear and Nonlinear Optics

Cited by 367 publications

References 59 publications

Generation of ultra-intense single-cycle laser pulses by using photon deceleration

Generation of ultra-intense single-cycle laser pulses by using photon deceleration

A femtosecond X-ray/optical cross-correlator

Pulse Confinement in Optical Fibers with Random Dispersion

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