One-dimensional mapping of femtosecond laser filaments using coherent microwave scattering.

This paper reports on the use of coherent microwave scattering (CMS) for spatially resolved electron number density measurements of elongated plasma structures induced at mid-IR femtosecond filamentation in air. The presented studies comprise one-dimensional mapping of laser filaments induced via 3.9 µm, 127.

Suppression of Kerr-induced satellites in multi-pulse CPA.

Amplification of bursts of ultrashort pulses is very challenging when the intraburst repetition frequency reaches the THz range, corresponding to (sub)-ps intervals between consecutive pulses. Periodic interference significantly modifies conditions for chirped pulse amplification (CPA), leading to temporal and spectral distortions during CPA due to optical Kerr nonlinearity. Multi-pulse chirped amplification to mJ energies may lead to a pronounced degradation of burst fidelity and the appearance of periodic temporal satellites after de-chirping the amplified waveform.

Hyper spectral resolution stimulated Raman spectroscopy with amplified fs pulse bursts.

We present a novel approach for Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS) spectroscopy in which a hyper spectral resolution and high-speed spectral acquisition are achieved by employing amplified offset-phase controlled fs-pulse bursts. We investigate the method by solving the coupled non-linear Schrödinger equations and validate it by numerically characterizing SRS in molecular nitrogen as a model compound. The spectral resolution of the method is found to be determined by the inverse product of the number of pulses in the burst and the intraburst pulse separation.

Analysis of high-contrast all-optical dual-wavelength switching in asymmetric dual-core fibers.

We systematically present experimental and theoretical results for the dual-wavelength switching of 1560 nm, 75 fs signal pulses (SPs) driven by 1030 nm, and 270 fs control pulses (CPs) in a dual-core fiber (DCF). We demonstrate a switching contrast of 31.9 dB, corresponding to a propagation distance of 14 mm, achieved by launching temporally synchronized SP-CP pairs into the fast core of the DCF with moderate inter-core asymmetry.

Spectral peak recovery in parametrically amplified THz-repetition-rate bursts.

Multi-photon resonant spectroscopies require tunable narrowband excitation to deliver spectral selectivity and, simultaneously, high temporal intensity to drive a nonlinear-optical process. These contradictory requirements are achievable with bursts of ultrashort pulses, which provides both high intensity and tunable narrowband peaks in the frequency domain arising from spectral interference. However, femtosecond pulse bursts need special attention during their amplification [Optica7, 1758 (2020)10.

HHG at the Carbon K-Edge Directly Driven by SRS Red-Shifted Pulses from an Ytterbium Amplifier.

In this work, we introduce a simplified approach to efficiently extend the high harmonic generation (HHG) cutoff in gases without the need for laser frequency conversion via parametric processes. Instead, we employ postcompression and red-shifting of a Yb:CaF laser via stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) in a nitrogen-filled stretched hollow core fiber. This driving scheme circumvents the low-efficiency window of parametric amplifiers in the 1100-1300 nm range.

Ionization rate and plasma dynamics at 3.9 micron femtosecond photoionization of air.

The introduction of mid-IR optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers has catalyzed interest in multimillijoule, infrared femtosecond pulse-based filamentation. As tunneling ionization is a fundamental first stage in these high-intensity laser-matter interactions, characterizing the process is critical to understand derivative topical studies on femtosecond filamentation and self-focusing. Here, we report direct nonintrusive measurements of total electron count and electron number densities generated at 3.

Complex study of solitonic ultrafast self-switching in slightly asymmetric dual-core fibers.

We present a complex study of pulse-energy-controlled solitonic self-switching of femtosecond pulses at wavelengths of 1700 and 1560 nm in two nonlinear high-index contrast dual-core fibers having different levels of slight asymmetry. In the case of the fiber with higher dual-core asymmetry excited by 1700 nm pulses, the highest switching contrast of 20.8 dB at 40 mm fiber length was demonstrated.

Polarization Dependent Excitation and High Harmonic Generation from Intense Mid-IR Laser Pulses in ZnO.

The generation of high order harmonics from femtosecond mid-IR laser pulses in ZnO has shown great potential to reveal new insight into the ultrafast electron dynamics on a few femtosecond timescale. In this work we report on the experimental investigation of photoluminescence and high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in a ZnO single crystal and polycrystalline thin film irradiated with intense femtosecond mid-IR laser pulses. The ellipticity dependence of the HHG process is experimentally studied up to the 17th harmonic order for various driving laser wavelengths in the spectral range 3-4 µm.

Observation of extremely efficient terahertz generation from mid-infrared two-color laser filaments.

Extreme nonlinear interactions of THz electromagnetic fields with matter are the next frontier in nonlinear optics. However, reaching this frontier in free space is limited by the existing lack of appropriate powerful THz sources. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that two-color filamentation of femtosecond mid-infrared laser pulses at 3.

Strong Light-Field Driven Nanolasers.

Einstein established the quantum theory of radiation and paved the way for modern laser physics including single-photon absorption by charge carriers and finally pumping an active gain medium into population inversion. This can be easily understood in the particle picture of light. Using intense, ultrashort pulse lasers, multiphoton pumping of an active medium has been realized.

Near- and Extended-Edge X-Ray-Absorption Fine-Structure Spectroscopy Using Ultrafast Coherent High-Order Harmonic Supercontinua.

Recent advances in high-order harmonic generation have made it possible to use a tabletop-scale setup to produce spatially and temporally coherent beams of light with bandwidth spanning 12 octaves, from the ultraviolet up to x-ray photon energies >1.6  keV. Here we demonstrate the use of this light for x-ray-absorption spectroscopy at the K- and L-absorption edges of solids at photon energies near 1 keV.

High-energy pulse stacking via regenerative pulse-burst amplification.

Here we present a coherent pulse stacking approach for upscaling the energy of a solid-state femtosecond chirped pulse amplifier. We demonstrate pulse splitting into four replicas, amplification in a burst-mode regenerative Yb:CaF amplifier, designed to overcome intracavity optical damage by colliding pulse replicas, and coherent combining into a single millijoule level pulse. The thresholds of pulse-burst-induced damage of optical elements are experimentally investigated.

Parametric amplification of 100 fs mid-infrared pulses in ZnGeP driven by a Ho:YAG chirped-pulse amplifier.

We report on the parametric generation of 100 fs sub-6-cycle 40 μJ pulses with the center wavelength at 5.2 μm using a 1 ps 2.1 μm pump laser and a dispersion management scheme based on bulk material.

Combined Yb/Nd driver for optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers.

We report on the developed front-end/pump system for optical parametric chirped pulse amplifiers. The system is based on a dual output fiber oscillator/power amplifier which seeds and assures all-optical synchronization of femtosecond Yb and picosecond Nd laser amplifiers operating at a central wavelength of 1030 nm and 1064 nm, respectively. At the central wavelength of 1030 nm, the fiber oscillator generates partially stretched 4 ps pulses with the spectrum supporting a <120 fs pulse duration and pulse energy of 0.

Broadband mid-infrared pulses from potassium titanyl arsenate/zinc germanium phosphate optical parametric amplifier pumped by Tm, Ho-fiber-seeded Ho:YAG chirped-pulse amplifier.

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.

White light generation over three octaves by femtosecond filament at 3.9 µm in argon.

We report the first (to our knowledge) experimental results and numerical simulations on mid-IR femtosecond pulse filamentation in argon using 0.1 TW peak-power, 80 fs, 3.9 μm pulses.

Bright coherent ultrahigh harmonics in the keV x-ray regime from mid-infrared femtosecond lasers.

High-harmonic generation (HHG) traditionally combines ~100 near-infrared laser photons to generate bright, phase-matched, extreme ultraviolet beams when the emission from many atoms adds constructively. Here, we show that by guiding a mid-infrared femtosecond laser in a high-pressure gas, ultrahigh harmonics can be generated, up to orders greater than 5000, that emerge as a bright supercontinuum that spans the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the ultraviolet to more than 1.6 kilo-electron volts, allowing, in principle, the generation of pulses as short as 2.

Carrier envelope phase stabilization of a Yb:KGW laser amplifier.

In this paper we report on the active stabilization of the carrier envelope phase (CEP) of a Yb:KGW chirped pulse amplifier laser system seeded by a Yb-doped solid-state Kerr-lens mode-locked oscillator. The regenerative amplifier delivers 180 fs CEP stable pulses of 30 μJ-1 mJ energy at a repetition rate tunable from 1 to 200 kHz. The bandwidth of the feedback loop was extended by a factor of 5 using a specially designed high-pass filter, which resulted in a dramatic decrease of CEP jitter below 0.

90 GW peak power few-cycle mid-infrared pulses from an optical parametric amplifier.

We demonstrate a compact 20 Hz repetition-rate mid-IR OPCPA system operating at a central wavelength of 3900 nm with the tail-to-tail spectrum extending over 600 nm and delivering 8 mJ pulses that are compressed to 83 fs (<7 optical cycles). Because of the long optical period (∼13 fs) and a high peak power, the system opens a range of unprecedented opportunities for tabletop ultrafast science and is particularly attractive as a driver for a highly efficient generation of ultrafast coherent x-ray continua for biomolecular and element specific imaging.

Optically induced cis-trans isomerisation of (eta6-cis-stilbene)Cr(CO)3.

The femto- and picosecond time resolved spectroscopy of (eta(6)-cis-stilbene)Cr(CO)(3) provides evidence for three optically accessible excited states one leading to cis-trans isomerisation of the coordinated stilbene ligand and another which results in a slow release of CO.

Self-compression of millijoule 1.5 microm pulses.

We demonstrate a four-stage optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification system that delivers carrier-envelope phase-stable approximately 1.5 microm pulses with energies up to 12.5 mJ before recompression.

Optical energy transport and interactions between the excitations in a coumarin-perylene bisimide dendrimer.

Energy transfer properties of novel coumarin-perylene bisimide dendrimer are studied by means of steady state and time-resolved UV/vis spectroscopy. At low donor excitation density fast (transfer rate approximately 10 ps(-1)) and efficient (quantum yield approximately 99.5%) donor-acceptor energy transfer is observed.

Intramolecular energy transfer in a tetra-coumarin perylene system: influence of solvent and bridging unit on electronic properties.

The synthesis and characterisation of a novel coumarin donor-perylene bisimide acceptor light-harvesting system is reported, in which an energy-transfer efficiency of >99% is achieved. Comparison of the excited-state properties of the donor-acceptor system with model compounds revealed that although the photophysical properties of the perylene bisimide acceptor unit are affected considerably by the nature of the substituent at the imide positions and the solvent employed, through-bond interaction between the donor and acceptor units is negligible. Energy transfer in the present system can be described as occurring via a through-space energy-transfer mechanism.

Modification of the nanoscale structure of the J-aggregate of a sulfonate-substituted amphiphilic carbocyanine dye through incorporation of surface-active additives.

The amphiphilic dye 3,3'-bis(2-sulfopropyl)-5,5',6,6'-tetrachloro-1,1'-dioctylbenzimidacarbocyanine (C8S3) self-aggregates in aqueous solution to form tubular J-aggregates with a diameter of 17.0 +/- 0.5 nm, a wall thickness of approximately 4 nm, and a length exceeding several hundred nanometers.