Laser-parameter effects on the generation of ultrabroad harmonic and ultrashort attosecond pulse in a long-plus-short scheme

By numerically solving the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for helium gas in a special two-color laser field, which is synthesized by a long (9?fs) driving pulse and a short (6?fs) controlling pulse, we discuss the influence of the carrier-envelope phase, frequency, and the intensity of the controlling pulse on the generation of harmonic spectra and isolated attosecond pluses. In the cutoff region, two or three plateaus can be controlled by optimizing these laser parameters, and an ultrabroad supercontinuum harmonic spectrum with a bandwidth of 800?eV can be produced, which can support an ultrashort isolated 4.5 as pulse generation by Fourier transformation. Furthermore, using classical ionizing and returning energy maps, time–frequency analyses are presented to explain the underlying physical mechanisms.     

Optimal control of high harmonics for the generation of double attosecond pulses by using a chirped laser pulse

An efficient scheme for the optimization of ultrashort femtosecond pulse shapes interacting with an atom to control high harmonics spectrum and double attosecond pulse generation is presented. The time-dependent Schrödinger equation of one-dimensional hydrogen atom is solved numerically to obtain electric field emission. The genetic algorithm optimization method is used to control the phase and amplitude of ultrashort excitation laser pulses to generate the desired attosecond-shaped pulses. An appropriate cost function is introduced for genetic algorithm optimization of double attosecond pulse generation. It is shown that the relative intensity of two generated pulses, their delay time and duration can be controlled in this approach. Finally, the parameters of the optimized emitted attosecond pulse are compared with those of desired pulses, and the underlying physical mechanisms are discussed in detail.     

Isolated attosecond pulse generation with the chirped two-color laser field

We propose a scheme to generate isolated attosecond pulse using a linearly chirped two-color laser field, which includes a fundamental laser field and a weak infrared control laser field in the multicycle regime. The fundamental laser field consists of one linearly up-chirped and one linearly down-chirped pulses. The control pulse is chirped free. We compare the attosecond pulse generated in the chirped two-color field and the chirp-free field. It is found that an IAP can be generated even without carrier envelop phase stabilization in the chirped two-color laser field with a duration of 40 fs. We also discuss the influence of the relative intensity, relative phase, time delay, and chirping parameters on the generation of IAPs.     

Generation of isolated attosecond pulses using unipolar and laser fields

A new scheme to generate isolated attosecond pulses is presented that involves the use of a laser field and of a unipolar field. The laser field has a pulse of intensity I = 1.5×10¹⁴ W cm^?2 and wavelength λ = 820 nm. The unipolar pulse is an asymmetric pulse consisting of a sharp peak, lasting approximately half a laser period, i.e. nearly 1.4 fs, followed by a long and shallow tail. We show that on combining these two fields, it is possible to generate isolated attosecond pulses as short as 1/10 of a laser period, i.e. approximately 270 as. Moreover, it is argued that this scheme is robust either against small variations of the laser envelope, or against small changes in the delay between the laser pump and the unipolar pulse.     

All-optical synchronization of self-pulsating laser diodes with frequency multiplication and division

Abstract

We investigate optical synchronization with frequency multiplication and division of self-pulsating laser diodes. Using a simple rate equation model to describe self-pulsation we show that synchronization with frequency multiplication can be accompanied by large variations in the period of the emitted laser pulses over the injected pulse cycle. These variations are not obvious in the frequency domain treatment of synchronization. By applying a frequency division synchronizing signal to our model, we also show that the sensitivity of the phase difference between the injected signal and laser emission to power increases with increasing frequency division ratio and leads to the presence of power synchronization ranges.     

Optical Frequency Metrology of an Iodine-Stabilized He-Ne Laser Using the Frequency Comb of a Quantum-Interference-Stabilized Mode-Locked Laser

We perform optical frequency metrology of an iodine-stabilized He-Ne laser using a mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser frequency comb that is stabilized using quantum interference of photocurrents in a semiconductor. Using this technique, we demonstrate carrier-envelope offset frequency fluctuations of less than 5 mHz using a 1 s gate time. With the resulting stable frequency comb, we measure the optical frequency of the iodine transition [¹²⁷I₂ R(127) 11-5 i component] to be 473 612 214 712.96 ± 0.66 kHz, well within the uncertainty of the CIPM recommended value. The stability of the quantum interference technique is high enough such that it does not limit the measurements.     

Quantum wavepacket exploration of isolated high-order harmonic attosecond pulse generation: from two-color scheme to three-color scheme

Isolated attosecond generation under the two-color scheme and three-color scheme are investigated theoretically by use of wave-packet dynamics calculation. Optimized relative phase under the two-color field is obtained and comparison is taken between the second-harmonic control and half-harmonic control. A further exploration of the three-color scheme by adding a weak second-harmonic pulse and a half-harmonic pulse onto 8×10¹⁴?W?cm^?2 6?fs/800?nm pulse shows the potential for generating the 337?eV continuum supporting creation of an isolated 11 as pulse.     

A Double Resonance Method for Studying Collision Rates in an Intense Laser Field

Abstract

We propose a method for studying the modification of atomic collision rates in the presence of an intense laser field. This method employs a three-level lambda-system driven by two laser pulses: one strong and the other weak. The weak laser is used to populate a particular dressed state produced by the intense laser at some time during the pulse history. We show that this point can be selected by tuning the frequency of the weak laser. The spectrum of the emission produced by the dressed state is then recorded. Measuring this spectrum, both in the presence and in the absence of collisions, enables one to deduce the dependence of the collision rates on laser intensity. The method has other advantages discussed in the text.     

Generation of an extreme ultraviolet supercontinuum in a two-color spatially inhomogeneous field

We theoretically investigate the high-order harmonic generation from the helium ion in a two-color spatially inhomogeneous laser field. The numerical calculations show that this spatiotemporally synthesized laser field can not only significantly extend the harmonic cut-off, but also generate an ultrabroad extreme ultraviolet supercontinuum with a 1737 eV bandwidth. In addition, the spatiotemporal combination can eliminate the long quantum path and select the short one, and then an ultrashort isolated 12.3 as pulse with a bandwidth of 310.2 eV is obtained directly. Further, the dependences of the harmonic spectrum on the parameters including spatial inhomogeneity, time delay, carrier-envelope phase, and intensity are further discussed.     

Frequency Spectral Measurements of a Pulsed,TE CO2

Abstract

Experimental measurements of the intra-pulse chirp and temporal coherence from a Joule class TE CO₂ laser incorporating LAWS transmitter design features are presented. Digitized quadrature data (I and Q) from our ground-based coherent Doppler lidar system utilizing return signals off a hard target in the telescope far field are processed using fast Fourier transform and pulse pair techniques to obtain laser pulse frequency spectral components (offset frequency and spectral width) and high-resolution (～ 50 ns/sample) frequency chirp profiles. Less than 300 kHz of frequency chirp is observed in the first 3·5 μs of the laser pulse which contains approximately 90% of the pulse energy. Spectral width of the laser pulse, including both chirp and transform limited components, are measured to be less than 300 kHz full width at half maximum.     

On the possibility of obtaining attosecond pulse trains during second harmonic generation by high-intensity femtosecond pulses

The possibility of obtaining attosecond pulse trains during second harmonic generation by high-intensity femtosecond pulses is demonstrated by means of computer simulation. The attosecond pulses are formed at the basic frequency with a low efficiency (≤8%) of the energy conversion from first to second harmonic. The regimes of attosecond pulse generation at the double frequency are considered.     

Short-pulse Injection-locking of a Mercury Chloride Laser

Abstract

We report the injection locking of a mercury chloride discharge laser. This has been achieved using an injection pulse much shorter than the slave pulse duration. Selective enhancement of HgCl laser output at wavelengths to the blue of the usual 558 nm lasing region has been observed. Mercury metastables, produced in the discharge, are found to have an absorption line coincident with an HgCl gain peak at 547 nm, and laser action at this wavelength is inhibited. This absorption has been counteracted by correctly timing the entry of the injected pulse into the slave laser cavity.     

500 Hz ultraviolet dye laser with pulse energy 1.7 mJ and potential for PLIF imaging

ABSTRACT

This paper describes a high-pulse-energy frequency-doubled ultraviolet dye laser operating at a repetition rate of 500?Hz. The pump source is a laser-diode side-pumped Q-switched Nd:YAG laser with a pulse energy of 29?mJ at 532?nm. A master oscillator power amplifier is employed to amplify the output pulse of the dye laser to 8.1?mJ at 566?nm, and by frequency doubling with BBO crystal a pulse energy of 1.7?mJ at 283?nm is achieved with a pulse width of 8?ns. This is more than four times the largest reported pulse energies generated by other fixed-frequency dye lasers when operating at repetition rates of more than 1?kHz. The conversion efficiency and stability of dye laser are discussed, which show the potential for high-speed laser diagnostics in the fields of combustion and turbulent flow detection.     

Dynamics of solitons in optical fibres

Abstract

A multiple-scale perturbation method is developed to study the optical solitons described by a perturbed nonlinear Schrödinger equation. We show that, by properly defining the phase of the soliton pulse, we can obtain corrections to the pulse where a standard soliton perturbation approach fails. A comparison is made with results obtained by other methods as well as with numerical simulations.     

Generation of single-cycle pulses spaced by an integer number of molecular periods

Abstract

Previous work has shown that a new light source consisting of mutually coherent spectral sidebands ranging from 2.94 μm to 195 nm can be obtained by adiabatic preparation of a molecular ensemble in a single vibrational superposition state. Molecular motion modulated the refractive index and thus led to the frequency modulation of the driving beat-note. The resulting sidebands were equidistant and separated by a frequency equal to the modulation frequency. In the present work we extend this idea by applying more input fields to the molecular ensemble. We take two input fields separated by one half of the modulation frequency, such that their second harmonics drive the molecular ensemble. The proposed approach results in generating an equidistant comb of frequencies separated by a fraction (1/4) of the modulation frequency. Moreover, the intensity of the generated train of pulses increases by the inverse of the same factor. An important feature of the generated comb is that it reaches zero frequency, and as a consequence allows for control of the absolute phase, or the phase of the carrier with respect to the envelope. Since many physical processes, for example photoionization of molecules by intense laser pulses, are influenced by the time dependence of the electric field (and not the envelope), control of absolute phase will become an important issue for few-cycle pulses.     

Linewidth-determining Processes in Distributed Feedback Dye Lasers

Abstract

Processes determining the linewidths of distributed feedback dye lasers (DFDL) have been investigated. Time resolution of the frequency of the output pulse shows that the linewidth, averaged over a pulse, arises predominantly from a dynamic sweeping of the laser frequency during the course of the pulse. This sweeping results from refractive-index changes in the dye over the duration of the pumping pulse; either through thermal effects or dispersion associated with the saturated gain. Thermal effects may be minimized by suitable choice of solvent but the dispersive sweep is inherent in this type of laser. The magnitude of the dispersive sweep changes across the tuning range of the laser. By judicious choice of dye solvent and dye parameters we have developed a narrow linewidth DFDL of 140 MHz for τ = 3·2 ns pulses, which is close to the transform limit.     

Generation of a superstable Lorentzian pulse train with a high repetition frequency based on a Fabry-Perot resonator integrated with an electro-optic phase modulator

A simple technique for converting a continuous-wave laser beam into a stable Lorentzian pulse train with a high repetition frequency is demonstrated experimentally. We generated transform-limited pulses of up to 40 GHz, which were composed of higher-order sidebands produced by a Fabry-Perot resonator integrated with an electro-optic phase modulator (EOM). The rf power supplied to the EOM determines the pulse width in the pulse train. This approach enables the pulse width to be continuously tuned from 2.1 to 7.0 ps at the same repetition frequency without any wavelength shift. Furthermore, we experimentally evaluated the stability of the pulse train's amplitude and obtained stable bit-error-free operation at 9.95 GHz.     

Optomechanical effect on the Dicke quantum phase transition and quasi-particle damping in a Bose–Einstein condensate: a new tool to measure weak force

Abstract

We make a semi-classical steady state analysis of the influence of mirror motion on the quantum phase transition for an optomechanical Dicke model in the thermodynamic limit. An additional external mechanical pump is shown to modify the critical value of atom–photon coupling needed to observe the quantum phase transition. We further show how to choose the mechanical pump frequency and cavity–laser detuning to produce extremely cold condensates. The present system can be used as a quantum device to measure weak forces.     

Cubic-quintic saturable nonlinearity effects on a light pulse strongly distorted by the fourth-order dispersion

Abstract

We analyze a useful process able to safeguard the fundamental soliton light pulse stability in a strongly perturbed environment by the fourth-order dispersion (FOD). This optical pulse propagation is described by the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with cubic–quintic saturable nonlinearities. Some pulse parameters, called collective variables (CVs) such as amplitude, temporal position, width, chirp, frequency shift and constant phase are obtained analytically. Numerical evolution of CVs and their stability are studied under a typical example to verify our analysis.     

Broadband Intensity Stabilization of a Diode-pumped Monolithic Miniature Nd: YAG Ring Laser

Abstract

We have built an electronic servo system to reduce the intensity noise in a diode-pumped single-mode monolithic Nd: YAG ring laser with a maximum output power of 350 mW. The servo used two stabilization systems operating simultaneously over two different frequency ranges, each of which detected a fraction of the laser output, amplified and phase shifted the detected signals and used the resultant signals to control the current to the laser diode pump. We achieved a reduction in intensity noise of up to a factor of 30 for frequencies up to about 1 kHz, with some noise reduction observable up to about 30 kHz. At frequencies between around 30 and 200 kHz the intensity noise was increased by a factor of approximately 1·4. In the frequency range 200 to 300 kHz, around the relaxation oscillation frequency of 260 kHz, the intensity noise was suppressed, the reduction factor being approximately 14 at 260 kHz.