Abstract
AbstractWe demonstrate how a scheme called advanced dual-chirped optical parametric amplification (DC-OPA) that employs two kinds of nonlinear crystal (BiB3O6 and MgO-doped lithium niobate) can generate high-energy, single-cycle mid-infrared laser pulses. In experiments, the advanced DC-OPA scheme achieved carrier-to-envelope phase-stable mid-infrared laser pulses with a bandwidth of over one octave (1.4–3.1 µm) and an output pulse energy of 53 mJ. The pulse duration was compressed to 8.58 fs, which corresponds to 1.05 cycles with a central wavelength of 2.44 µm and a peak power of 6 TW. To our knowledge, the obtained values for the pulse energy and peak power are the highest achieved for optical parametric amplification of single-cycle mid-infrared laser pulses. Moreover, owing to the energy scalability of the advanced DC-OPA scheme, the prospects of the multi-terawatt sub-cycle laser pulses are discussed.
Funder
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Subject
Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials