Showing papers on "Pulse duration published in 2016"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors synthesize ultrasmall black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) with an average size of 2.1 ± 0.9 nm using a solvothermal method in a N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution.
Abstract: Ultrasmall black phosphorus quantum dots (BPQDs) with an average size of 2.1 ± 0.9 nm are synthesized by using a solvothermal method in a N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone solution. Verified by femto-second laser Z-scan measurement, BPQDs exhibit excellent nonlinear optical response with a modulation depth of about 36% and a saturable intensity of about 3.3 GW cm−2. By using BPQDs as optical saturable absorber, the ultrashort pulse with a pulse duration of about 1.08 ps centered at a wavelength of 1567.5 nm is generated in mode-locked fiber laser. These results suggest that BPQDs may be developed as another kind of promising nanomaterial for ultrafast photonics.
316 citations
TL;DR: The simple and effective liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) method was used to fabricate black phosphorus as the saturable absorber (SA) into two specifically designed rare earth ions doped fluoride fiber lasers at mid-infrared wavebands.
Abstract: Black phosphorus (BP) as a novel class of two-dimension (2D) materials has recently attracted enormous attention as a result of its unique physical and chemical features. The remarkably strong light-matter interaction and tunable direct band-gap at a wide range make it an ideal candidate especially in the mid-infrared wavelength region as the saturable absorber (SA). In this paper, the simple and effective liquid phase exfoliation (LPE) method was used to fabricate BP. By introducing the same BP SA into two specifically designed rare earth ions doped fluoride fiber lasers at mid-infrared wavebands, Q-switching with the pulse energy of 4.93 μJ and mode-locking with the pulse duration of 8.6 ps were obtained, respectively. The operation wavelength of ~2970 nm for generated pulse is the reported longest wavelength for BP SA based fiber lasers.
256 citations
TL;DR: A kind of visible saturable absorber-two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) is reported, which may open a new route for next-generation high-performance pulsed laser sources in the visible (even ultraviolet) range.
Abstract: Passive Q-switching or mode-locking by placing a saturable absorber inside the laser cavity is one of the most effective and popular techniques for pulse generation. However, most of the current saturable absorbers cannot work well in the visible spectral region, which seriously impedes the progress of passively Q-switched/mode-locked visible pulsed fibre lasers. Here, we report a kind of visible saturable absorber-two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDs, e.g. WS2, MoS2, MoSe2), and successfully demonstrate compact red-light Q-switched praseodymium (Pr(3+))-doped all-fibre lasers. The passive Q-switching operation at 635 nm generates stable laser pulses with ∼200 ns pulse duration, 28.7 nJ pulse energy and repetition rate from 232 to 512 kHz. This achievement is attributed to the ultrafast saturable absorption of these layered TMDs in the visible region, as well as the compact and all-fibre laser-cavity design by coating a dielectric mirror on the fibre end facet. This work may open a new route for next-generation high-performance pulsed laser sources in the visible (even ultraviolet) range.
233 citations
TL;DR: The results demonstrate the feasibility of black phosphorus flake as a new two-dimensional material for application in mid-infrared ultrafast photonics.
Abstract: A mid-infrared saturable absorber mirror is successfully fabricated by transferring the mechanically exfoliated black phosphorus onto the gold-coated mirror. With the as-prepared black phosphorus saturable absorber mirror, a continuous-wave passively mode-locked Er:ZBLAN fiber laser is demonstrated at the wavelength of 2.8 μm, which delivers a maximum average output power of 613 mW, a repetition rate of 24 MHz, and a pulse duration of 42 ps. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a black phosphorus mode-locked laser at 2.8 μm wavelength has been demonstrated. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of black phosphorus flake as a new two-dimensional material for application in mid-infrared ultrafast photonics.
165 citations
TL;DR: A scheme for nonlinear pulse compression at high average powers based on self-phase modulation in a multi-pass cell using fused silica as the nonlinear medium is demonstrated.
Abstract: We demonstrate a scheme for nonlinear pulse compression at high average powers based on self-phase modulation in a multi-pass cell using fused silica as the nonlinear medium. The scheme is suitable for compression of pulses with peak powers exceeding the threshold for critical self-focusing. At >400 W of input power, the pulses of a Yb:YAG-Innoslab laser system (10 MHz repetition rate, 850 fs pulse duration) are spectrally broadened from 1.6 to >13.5 nm bandwidth while maintaining almost diffraction-limited beam quality. The chirp is removed with a dispersive mirror compressor, and pulse durations of 170 fs at an output power of 375 W are achieved. The compression unit reaches an overall transmission of >90%.
160 citations
TL;DR: An ultrafast fiber chirped-pulse amplifier comprising eight coherently combined amplifier channels is presented and has proven suitable for demanding scientific applications.
Abstract: An ultrafast fiber chirped-pulse amplifier comprising eight coherently combined amplifier channels is presented. The laser delivers 1 kW average power at 1 mJ pulse energy and 260 fs pulse duration. Excellent beam quality and low-noise performance are confirmed. The laser has proven suitable for demanding scientific applications. Further power scaling is possible right away using even more amplifier channels.
127 citations
TL;DR: Efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched Er:Lu2O3 laser operation at 2.84 μm was realized and a few-layer MoS2 nanosheet film was fabricated and employed as saturable absorber (SA) in a short plane-plane cavity.
Abstract: Efficient diode-pumped passively Q-switched Er:Lu2O3 laser operation at 2.84 μm was realized. A few-layer MoS2 nanosheet film on a YAG substrate, was fabricated and employed as saturable absorber (SA) in a short plane-plane cavity. Under an absorbed diode laser pump power of 7.61 W, an average output power of 1.03 W was generated with a pulse duration of 335 ns and a repetition rate of 121 kHz, resulting in a pulse energy of 8.5 μJ.
111 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, an extension of FLASH with a second undulator line and self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) is demonstrated in both FELs simultaneously.
Abstract: Extreme-ultraviolet to x-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) in operation for scientific applications are up to now single-user facilities. While most FELs generate around 100 photon pulses per second, FLASH at DESY can deliver almost two orders of magnitude more pulses in this time span due to its superconducting accelerator technology. This makes the facility a prime candidate to realize the next step in FELs—dividing the electron pulse trains into several FEL lines and delivering photon pulses to several users at the same time. Hence, FLASH has been extended with a second undulator line and self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) is demonstrated in both FELs simultaneously. Here, FLASH can now deliver MHz pulse trains to two user experiments in parallel with individually selected photon beam characteristics. First results of the capabilities of this extension are shown with emphasis on independent variation of wavelength, repetition rate, and photon pulse length.
106 citations
TL;DR: A criterion between the polarization relative extinction ratio in the samples and the pulse duration relates the better mode-locking performance with the higher polarization extinction ratio of the samples, which provides a better understanding of the graphene distributed saturable absorbers.
Abstract: We demonstrated a method to construct high efficiency saturable absorbers based on the evanescent light field interaction of CVD monolayer graphene deposited on side-polished D-shaped optical fiber. A set of samples was fabricated with two different core-graphene distances (0 and 1 μm), covered with graphene ranging between 10 and 25 mm length. The mode-locking was achieved and the best pulse duration was 256 fs, the shortest pulse reported in the literature with CVD monolayer graphene in EDFL. As result, we find a criterion between the polarization relative extinction ratio in the samples and the pulse duration, which relates the better mode-locking performance with the higher polarization extinction ratio of the samples. This criterion also provides a better understanding of the graphene distributed saturable absorbers and their reproducible performance as optoelectronic devices for optical applications.
104 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used two interfering beams of a Yb:YAG-Laser with 515-nm wavelength and a pulse duration of 35-ps and a laser fluence of 0.1-J/cm 2.
95 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a 10-picosecond drive pulse was used to tailor the spectral content for radiography with medium density alloy metals, and the impact of using >1ps pulse duration on laser-accelerated electron beam generation and transport was discussed alongside the optimisation of subsequent Bremsstrahlung emission in thin, high atomic number target foils.
Abstract: Pulsed beams of energetic X-rays and neutrons from intense laser interactions with solid foils are promising for applications where bright, small emission area sources, capable of multi-modal delivery are ideal. Possible end users of laser-driven multi-modal sources are those requiring advanced non-destructive inspection techniques in industry sectors of high value commerce such as aerospace, nuclear and advanced manufacturing. We report on experimental work that demonstrates multi-modal operation of high power laser-solid interactions for neutron and X-ray beam generation. Measurements and Monte-Carlo radiation transport simulations show that neutron yield is increased by a factor ~ 2 when a 1mm copper foil is placed behind a 2mm lithium foil, compared to using a 2cm block of lithium only. We explore X-ray generation with a 10 picosecond drive pulse in order to tailor the spectral content for radiography with medium density alloy metals. The impact of using >1ps pulse duration on laser-accelerated electron beam generation and transport is discussed alongside the optimisation of subsequent Bremsstrahlung emission in thin, high atomic number target foils. X-ray spectra are deconvolved from spectrometer measurements and simulation data generated using the GEANT4 Monte-Carlo code. We also demonstrate the unique capability of laser-driven X-rays in being able to deliver single pulse high spatial resolution projection imaging of thick metallic objects. Active detector radiographic imaging of industrially relevant sample objects with a 10ps drive pulse is presented for the first time, demonstrating that features of 200µm size are resolved when projected at high magnification.
TL;DR: In this paper, a passively Q-switched Ho3+/Pr3+ co-doped fluoride fiber laser was demonstrated using a tungsten disulfide (WS2) saturable absorber (SA) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge.
Abstract: In this letter, we demonstrate a passively Q-switched Ho3+/Pr3+ co-doped fluoride fiber laser centered at 2865.7 nm using a tungsten disulfide (WS2) saturable absorber (SA) for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. A multilayer WS2 film was fabricated using the sulfidation grown method and then transferred onto an Au mirror to act as the cavity feedback and SA device in a linear cavity. Under a launched pump power of 318.5 mW, stable Q-switched pulses with an average output power of 48.4 mW were achieved with a pulse duration of 1.73 µs and repetition rate of 131.6 kHz, resulting in a pulse energy of 0.37 µJ. Our experimental results confirm that WS2 can be an effective nonlinear modulator that is suitable for pulse generation at the 3 µm waveband.
TL;DR: In the mid-infrared wavelength range that is important for scaling the ponderomotive energy in strong-field interactions, a simple energy-efficient and scalable soliton-like pulse compression in a mm-long yttrium aluminium garnet crystal with no additional dispersion management is demonstrated.
Abstract: The physics of strong-field applications requires driver laser pulses that are both energetic and extremely short. Whereas optical amplifiers, laser and parametric, boost the energy, their gain bandwidth restricts the attainable pulse duration, requiring additional nonlinear spectral broadening to enable few or even single cycle compression and a corresponding peak power increase. Here we demonstrate, in the mid-infrared wavelength range that is important for scaling the ponderomotive energy in strong-field interactions, a simple energy-efficient and scalable soliton-like pulse compression in a mm-long yttrium aluminium garnet crystal with no additional dispersion management. Sub-three-cycle pulses with >0.44 TW peak power are compressed and extracted before the onset of modulation instability and multiple filamentation as a result of a favourable interplay between strong anomalous dispersion and optical nonlinearity around the wavelength of 3.9 μm. As a manifestation of the increased peak power, we show the evidence of mid-infrared pulse filamentation in atmospheric air.
TL;DR: An efficient Er:SrF2 crystal, lightly Er-doped to a concentration of 4at%, was successfully grown by the traditional Bridgman method and displayed excellent spectral properties and is the first reported application of BP-SA to dual-wavelength pulse laser operation in the mid-infrared region.
Abstract: An efficient Er:SrF2 crystal, lightly Er-doped to a concentration of 4at.%, was successfully grown by the traditional Bridgman method and displayed excellent spectral properties. A diode-end-pumped passively Q-switched dual-wavelength laser, operating at 2.79 μm wavelength, was demonstrated with this crystal by using black phosphorus as the saturable absorber (BP-SA). In the compact passively Q-switched Er:SrF2 laser, the maximum average output power of 180 mW was achieved at an absorbed pump power of 2.47 W, with a pulse duration of 702 ns and a repetition rate of 77.03 kHz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported application of BP-SA to dual-wavelength pulse laser operation in the mid-infrared region.
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of pulse duration on aspect ratio of glass material machined by ECDM was investigated experimentally to achieve better control on the quality characteristics of machining depth, surface damage, aspect ratio, and tool wear.
Abstract: Electrochemical discharge machining (ECDM) has proven its usefulness for micro-machining of hard, brittle, and nonconductive materials. Pulse duration is one of the most important process parameters in ECDM. The present article investigates the effect of pulse duration on aspect ratio of glass material machined by ECDM. An effective range of pulse duration was identified experimentally to achieve better control on the quality characteristics. The quality characteristics measured were machining depth, surface damage, aspect ratio, and tool wear. Results reveal that a limited range of pulse duration affects the quality characteristics leading to high aspect ratio. Further, values of process parameters for high aspect ratio of holes were identified. Effect of applied voltage on tool wear was also investigated.
TL;DR: The authors' TDF master-oscillator-power-amplifier (MOPA) system can provide a high power 2-μm band all-fiber-format laser source both tunable in pulse duration and peak power.
Abstract: In this paper, we first achieve nanosecond-scale dissipative soliton resonance (DSR) generation in a thulium-doped double-clad fiber (TDF) laser with all-anomalous-dispersion regime, and also first scale the average power up to 100.4 W by employing only two stage TDF amplifiers, corresponding to gains of 19.3 and 14.4 dB, respectively. It is noted that both the fiber laser oscillator and the amplification system employ double-clad fiber as the gain medium for utilizing the advantages in high-gain-availability, high-power-handling and good-mode-quality-maintaining. DSR mode-locking of the TDF oscillator is realized by using a nonlinear optical loop mirror (NOLM), which exhibits all-fiber-format, high nonlinear and passive saturable absorption properties. The TDF oscillator can deliver rectangular-shape pulses with duration ranging from ~3.74 to ~72.19 ns while maintaining a nearly equal output peak power level of ~0.56 W, namely peak power clamping (PPC) effect. Comparatively, the two stage amplifiers can scale the seeding pulses to similar average power levels, but to dramatically different peak powers ranging from ~0.94 to ~18.1 kW depending on the durations. Our TDF master-oscillator-power-amplifier (MOPA) system can provide a high power 2-μm band all-fiber-format laser source both tunable in pulse duration and peak power.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the write error rate (WER) for voltage-driven dynamic switching in magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetization, and they observed a clear oscillatory behavior of the switching probability with respect to the duration of pulse voltage, which reveals the precessional motion of magnetization during voltage application.
Abstract: We investigated the write error rate (WER) for voltage-driven dynamic switching in magnetic tunnel junctions with perpendicular magnetization. We observed a clear oscillatory behavior of the switching probability with respect to the duration of pulse voltage, which reveals the precessional motion of magnetization during voltage application. We experimentally demonstrated WER as low as 4 × 10−3 at the pulse duration corresponding to a half precession period (~1 ns). The comparison between the results of the experiment and simulation based on a macrospin model shows a possibility of ultralow WER (<10−15) under optimum conditions. This study provides a guideline for developing practical voltage-driven spintronic devices.
TL;DR: An ultrafast fiber-chirped-pulse amplification system using a combination of spatial and temporal coherent pulse combination is presented, achieving the highest energy achieved by an ultrafast Fiber-based laser system to date.
Abstract: An ultrafast fiber-chirped-pulse amplification system using a combination of spatial and temporal coherent pulse combination is presented. By distributing the amplification among eight amplifier channels and four pulse replicas, up to 12 mJ pulse energy with 700 W average power and 262 fs pulse duration have been obtained with a system efficiency of 78% and excellent beam quality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest energy achieved by an ultrafast fiber-based laser system to date.
TL;DR: Voltage, pulse length, interelectrode distance, active tip length, ATL, and electrode configuration each have a strong effect on temperature development and distribution during IRE.
20 Oct 2016
TL;DR: In this paper, a waveguide engineering technique that enables the generation of a bandwidth up to ∼1.1 GHz and an ultra-short pulse length of 2.5 GHz in injection-seeded terahertz quantum cascade lasers is presented.
Abstract: Ultra-short pulses are an attractive way of expanding today’s terahertz time-domain systems toward frequencies above 2 THz, and moreover mode control enables reliable generation of terahertz frequency combs based on quantum cascade lasers. We report on a waveguide engineering technique that enables the generation of a bandwidth up to ∼1 THz and an ultra-short pulse length of 2.5 ps in injection-seeded terahertz quantum cascade lasers. The reported technique is able to control and fully suppress higher order lateral modes in broadband terahertz quantum cascade lasers by introducing side-absorbers to metal–metal waveguides. The side-absorbers consist of a top metallization setback with respect to the laser ridge and an additional lossy metal layer. In continuous wave operation, the side-absorbers lead to octave-spanning laser emission, ranging from 1.63 to 3.37 THz, exhibiting a 725 GHz wide flat top within a 10 dB intensity range, as well as frequency comb operation with a bandwidth of 442 GHz. Numerical and experimental studies have been performed to optimize the impact of the side-absorbers on the emission properties and to determine the required increase of waveguide losses. Furthermore, these studies have led to a better understanding of the pulse formation dynamics of injection-seeded quantum cascade lasers.
TL;DR: In this paper, the spatiotemporal evolution of a periodic modulation of the deposited laser energy, once formed upon irradiation of metal (Ti) and semiconductor (Si) surfaces is studied.
TL;DR: The proposed WS2-SAM configuration provides a promising solution for advanced pulsed fiber lasers with the characteristics of high damage resistance, high output energy, and wide tunable frequency.
Abstract: In this paper, we demonstrate a high-damage-resistant tungsten disulfide saturable absorber mirror (WS2-SAM) fabricated by magnetron sputtering technique. The WS2-SAM has an all-fiber-integrated configuration and high-damage-resistant merit because the WS2 layer is protected by gold film so as to avoid being oxidized and destroyed at high pump power. Employing the WS2-SAM in an Erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) with linear cavity, the stable Q-switching operation is achieved at central wavelength of 1560 nm, with the repetition rates ranging from 29.5 kHz to 367.8 kHz and the pulse duration ranging from 1.269 μs to 154.9 ns. For the condition of the maximum pump power of 600 mW, the WS2-SAM still works stably with an output power of 25.2 mW, pulse energy of 68.5 nJ, and signal-noise-ratio of 42 dB. The proposed WS2-SAM configuration provides a promising solution for advanced pulsed fiber lasers with the characteristics of high damage resistance, high output energy, and wide tunable frequency.
13 Apr 2016-Materials Science and Engineering A-structural Materials Properties Microstructure and Processing
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of peak stress, strain rate, and pulse duration on spall strength and damage, as well as related microstructure features, using gas gun plate impact, laser velocimetry, and electron backscatter diffraction analysis.
Abstract: We investigate spall damage of a mild carbon steel under high strain-rate loading, regarding the effects of peak stress, strain rate, and pulse duration on spall strength and damage, as well as related microstructure features, using gas gun plate impact, laser velocimetry, and electron backscatter diffraction analysis. Our experiments demonstrate strong dependences of spall strength on peak stress and strain rate, and its weak dependence on pulse duration. We establish numerical relations between damage and peak stress or pulse duration. Brittle and ductile spall fracture modes are observed at different loading conditions. Damage nucleates at grain boundaries and triple junctions, either as transgranular cleavage cracks or voids.
TL;DR: In this article, a linear sweep and controlled pulse (down to 10 ns) based electrical characterization of RRAM devices was performed in a 1 transistor 1 RRAM (1T1R) configuration to determine endurance, reliability, retention and threshold voltage parameters.
Abstract: Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) is a novel form of non-volatile memory that is expected to play a major role in future computing and memory solutions. It has been shown that the resistance of RRAM devices can be precisely tuned by modulating switching voltages, by limiting peak current, and by adjusting the switching pulse duration. This enables the realization of novel applications such as memristive neuromorphic computing and neural network computing. The RRAM devices described in this work utilize an inert tungsten bottom electrode, hafnium oxide based active switching layer, a titanium oxygen exchange layer, and an inert titanium nitride top electrode. Linear sweep and controlled pulse (down to 10 ns) based electrical characterization of RRAM devices was performed in a 1 transistor 1 RRAM (1T1R) configuration to determine endurance, reliability, retention and threshold voltage parameters. We demonstrated endurance values above 108 cycles with an average on/off ratio of 15 and pulse voltages for set/reset operation of ±1.5V. The on-chip 1T1R structures show an excellent controllability with respect to the low and high resistive state by manipulating the peak current from 75 up to 350µA we were able to achieve 10 discrete resistive states. Our results demonstrate that the set operation (which shifts the RRAM device from the high to the low resistance state) is only dependent on the voltage of the switching pulse and the peak current limit. The reset operation, however, occurs in an analog fashion and appears to be dependent on the total energy of the applied switching pulse. Pulse energy was modulated by varying the peak voltage which resulted in a larger relative change of the RRAM device resistance.
TL;DR: In this paper, the temperature distribution of a lateral phase change memory (PCM) cell during a set pulse using measured voltage-current characteristics and thermal modeling is investigated, and the effect of thermal properties of materials on the extracted cell temperature is also studied.
Abstract: Phase-change memory (PCM) devices are enabled by amorphization- and crystallization-induced changes in the devices' electrical resistances. Amorphization is achieved by melting and quenching the active volume using short duration electrical pulses (∼ns). The crystallization (set) pulse duration, however, is much longer and depends on the cell temperature reached during the pulse. Hence, the temperature-dependent crystallization process of the phase-change materials at the device level has to be well characterized to achieve fast PCM operations. A main challenge is determining the cell temperature during crystallization. Here, we report extraction of the temperature distribution on a lateral PCM cell during a set pulse using measured voltage-current characteristics and thermal modelling. The effect of the thermal properties of materials on the extracted cell temperature is also studied, and a better cell design is proposed for more accurate temperature extraction. The demonstrated study provides promising results for characterization of the temperature-dependent crystallization process within a cell.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the switching performance of a planar biaxial anisotropic antiferromagnetic system with a simple planar anisotropy and showed that writing is possible at feasible current magnitudes.
Abstract: Ultrafast electrical switching by current-induced staggered spin-orbit fields, with minimal risk of overshoot is shown in layered easy-plane antiferromagnets with basal-plane anisotropies. Reliable switching is due to the fieldlike torque, relaxing stringent requirements with respect to precision in the duration of the excitation pulse. Focus is put on a system with weak planar biaxial anisotropy. We investigate the switching as a function of the spin-orbit field strength, pulse duration, rise and fall times, and damping using atomistic spin dynamics simulations and an effective equation for the antiferromagnetic order parameter. The critical spin-orbit field strength required for switching a biaxial system is determined, and we show that writing is possible at feasible current magnitudes. Finally, we discuss switching of systems exhibiting a dominant uniaxial basal-plane anisotropy.
TL;DR: It is validated that output parameters of the OPA are scalable by means of increasing the pulse energy, decreasing the pulse duration and redshifting the central wavelength.
Abstract: We present a concept of a white-light-seeded-cascaded mid-infrared (mid-IR) optical parametric amplifier (OPA) based on potassium titanyl arsenate and zinc germanium phosphate nonlinear optical crystals and producing 100-μJ level pulses centered at 5300 nm, with the spectrum supporting four-optical-cycle pulse duration. The OPA is pumped by 2090-nm master oscillator/power amplifier based on a Tm,Ho-fiber laser seeder and a Ho:YAG regenerative amplifier delivering 3.8-mJ sub-ps pulses at a repetition rate of 1 kHz. We validate that output parameters of the OPA are scalable by means of increasing the pulse energy, decreasing the pulse duration and redshifting the central wavelength.
TL;DR: An algorithm for characterizing attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses that is not bandwidth-limited, requires no interpolation of the experimental data, and makes no approximations beyond the strong-field approximation is introduced.
Abstract: An algorithm for characterizing attosecond extreme ultraviolet pulses that is not bandwidth-limited, requires no interpolation of the experimental data, and makes no approximations beyond the strong-field approximation is introduced. This approach fully incorporates the dipole transition matrix element into the retrieval process. Unlike attosecond retrieval methods such as phase retrieval by omega oscillation filtering (PROOF), or improved PROOF, it simultaneously retrieves both the attosecond and infrared (IR) pulses, without placing fundamental restrictions on the IR pulse duration, intensity or bandwidth. The new algorithm is validated both numerically and experimentally, and is also found to have practical advantages. These include an increased robustness to noise, and relaxed requirements for the size of the experimental dataset and the intensity of the streaking pulse.
TL;DR: Thulium-doped fibers with ultra large mode-field areas offer new opportunities for the power scaling of mid-IR ultrashort-pulse laser sources by optimizing the pulse shape, reducing the overlap with atmospheric absorption lines, and incorporating a climate chamber to reduce the humidity of the atmospheric environment.
Abstract: Thulium-doped fibers with ultra large mode-field areas offer new opportunities for the power scaling of mid-IR ultrashort-pulse laser sources. Here, we present a laser system delivering a pulse-peak power of 2 GW and a nearly transform-limited pulse duration of 200 fs in combination with 28.7 W of average power. This performance level has been achieved by optimizing the pulse shape, reducing the overlap with atmospheric absorption lines, and incorporating a climate chamber to reduce the humidity of the atmospheric environment.
TL;DR: The combined effect of down-chirped pulses and nuclear dynamics in light molecules allows one to achieve the extension of the harmonic plateau, provided that long enough IR pulses are used to allow the nuclei to move well outside the Franck-Condon region.
Abstract: One of the current challenges in high-harmonic generation is to extend the harmonic cutoff to increasingly high energies while maintaining or even increasing the efficiency of the high-harmonic emission. Here we show that the combined effect of down-chirped pulses and nuclear dynamics in light molecules allows one to achieve this goal, provided that long enough IR pulses are used to allow the nuclei to move well outside the Franck-Condon region. We also show that, by varying the duration of the chirped pulse or by performing isotopic substitution while keeping the pulse duration constant, one can control the extension of the harmonic plateau.