Few-cycle laser pulse characterization on-target using high-harmonic generation from nano-scale solids.

We demonstrate high-harmonic generation for the time-domain observation of the electric field (HHG-TOE) and use it to measure the waveform of ultrashort mid-infrared (MIR) laser pulses interacting with ZnO thin-films or WS monolayers. The working principle relies on perturbing HHG in solids with a weak replica of the pump pulse. We measure the duration of few-cycle pulses at 3200 nm, in reasonable agreement with the results of established pulse characterization techniques. Our method provides a straightforward approach to accurately characterize femtosecond laser pulses used for HHG experiments right at the point of interaction.