Few-Cycle Laser Pulse Generation and Its Applications

Description

This book covers the physics and technology of short pulse laser sources that generate pulses with widths of only a few optical cycles. The basic design considerations for the different systems, such as lasers, parametric amplifiers and external compression techniques, which have emerged over the last decade, are discussed to give researchers and graduate students a thorough introduction to this field. The existence of these sources has opened many new fields of research that were not possible before, such as UV- and X-ray generation from table-top systems using high-harmonic generation, frequency metrology with unprecedented precision, high-resolution optical coherence tomography and strong-field ultrafast solid-state processes, to mention only a few. Many new applications will follow. The book attempts to give a comprehensive, while not excessive, introduction to this exciting, new field that serves both experienced researchers and graduate students entering the field. Solid-State Materials for Few-Cycle Pulse Generation and Amplification....Pages 3-73 Few-Cycle Pulses Directly from a Laser....Pages 73-136 Few-Cycle Pulses by External Compression....Pages 137-178 Parametric Amplification and Phase Control of Few-Cycle Light Pulses....Pages 179-228 Measuring Ultrashort Pulsesin the Single-Cycle Regime:Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating....Pages 231-264 Characterization of Ultrashort Optical Pulses in the Few-Cycle Regime Using Spectral Phase Interferometry for Direct Electric-Field Reconstruction....Pages 265-292 Optical Frequency-Comb Generation and High-Resolution Laser Spectroscopy....Pages 295-317 Carrier–Envelope Phase Stabilization of Single and Multiple Femtosecond Lasers....Pages 317-343 Subfemtosecond XUV Pulses: Attosecond Metrology and Spectroscopy....Pages 343-379 Resonant Nonperturbative Extreme Nonlinear Optics with Two-Cycle Pulses: Carrier-Wave Rabi Flopping and Role of the Carrier–Envelope Offset Phase....Pages 379-410 Dynamics of a Photoexcited Hydrated Electron....Pages 409-445