High-energy sub-cycle optical waveform synthesizer

High-energy sub-cycle optical waveform synthesis is demonstrated with a three-channel OPA pumped by an 18-mJ cryogenically cooled Ti:sapphire laser. The system aims towards multi-mJ, 2-fs, phase-stable pulses covering the wavelength range from 0.52 - 2.4μ

Toward Waveform Nonlinear Optics Using Multimillijoule Sub-Cycle Waveform Synthesizers

Waveform nonlinear optics aims to study and control the nonlinear interactions of matter with extremely short optical waveforms custom-tailored within a single cycle of light. Different technological routes to generate such multimillijoule sub-optical-cycle waveforms are currently pursued, opening up unprecedented opportunities in attoscience and strong-field physics. Here, we discuss the experimental schemes, introduce the technological challenges, and present our experimental results on high-energy sub-cycle optical waveform synthesis based on (1) parametric amplification and (2) induced-phase modulation in a two-color-driven gas-filled hollow-core fiber compressor. More specifically, for (1), we demonstrate a carrier-envelope-phase (CEP)-stable, multimillijoule three-channel parametric waveform synthesizer generating a >2-octave-wide spectrum (0.52-2.4 μm). After two amplification stages, the combined 125-μJ output supports 1.9-fs FWHM waveforms; energy scaling to >2 mJ is achieved after three amplification stages. FROG pulse characterization of all three second-stage outputs demonstrates the feasibility to recompress all three channels simultaneously close to the Fourier limit and shows the flexibility of our intricate dispersion management scheme for different experimental situations. For (2), we generate CEP-stable 1.7-mJ waveforms covering 365-930 nm (measured at 1% of the peak intensity) obtained from induced-phase modulation in a two-color-driven gas-filled hollow-core fiber. Using custom-designed double-chirped mirrors and a UV spatial light modulator will permit compression close to the 0.9-fs FWHM transform limit. These novel sources will become versatile tools for controlling strong-field interactions in matter and for attosecond pump-probe spectroscopy using VIS/IR and XUV/soft-X-ray pulses

Multimillijoule sub-optical-cycle parametric waveform synthesis for attosecond science

We present a phase-stable, multi-mJ 3-channelparametric synthesizer generating 2-octave-wide waveforms (0.52-2.4 μm). After two amplification stages, the combined 125-μJ output supports 1.9-fs waveforms. The energy is scaled to 2 mJ after three amplification stages

Carrier-envelope phase effects on the strong-field photoemission of electrons from metallic nanostructures

Sharp metallic nanotapers irradiated with few-cycle laser pulses are emerging as a source of highly confined coherent electron wavepackets with attosecond duration and strong directivity. The possibility to steer, control or switch such electron wavepackets by light is expected to pave the way towards direct visualization of nanoplasmonic field dynamics and real-time probing of electron motion in solid state nanostructures. Such pulses can be generated by strong-field induced tunneling and acceleration of electrons in the near-field of sharp gold tapers within one half-cycle of the driving laser field. Here, we show the effect of the carrier-envelope phase of the laser field on the generation and motion of strong-field emitted electrons from such tips. This is a step forward towards controlling the coherent electron motion in and around metallic nanostructures on ultrashort length and time scales

Harnessing the reverse cholesterol transport pathway to favor differentiation of monocyte-derived APCs and antitumor responses

Lipid and cholesterol metabolism play a crucial role in tumor cell behavior and in shaping the tumor microenvironment. In particular, enzymatic and non-enzymatic cholesterol metabolism, and derived metabolites control dendritic cell (DC) functions, ultimately impacting tumor antigen presentation within and outside the tumor mass, dampening tumor immunity and immunotherapeutic attempts. The mechanisms accounting for such events remain largely to be defined. Here we perturbed (oxy)sterol metabolism genetically and pharmacologically and analyzed the tumor lipidome landscape in relation to the tumor-infiltrating immune cells. We report that perturbing the lipidome of tumor microenvironment by the expression of sulfotransferase 2B1b crucial in cholesterol and oxysterol sulfate synthesis, favored intratumoral representation of monocyte-derived antigen-presenting cells, including monocyte-DCs. We also found that treating mice with a newly developed antagonist of the oxysterol receptors Liver X Receptors (LXRs), promoted intratumoral monocyte-DC differentiation, delayed tumor growth and synergized with anti-PD-1 immunotherapy and adoptive T cell therapy. Of note, looking at LXR/cholesterol gene signature in melanoma patients treated with anti-PD-1-based immunotherapy predicted diverse clinical outcomes. Indeed, patients whose tumors were poorly infiltrated by monocytes/macrophages expressing LXR target genes showed improved survival over the course of therapy. Thus, our data support a role for (oxy)sterol metabolism in shaping monocyte-to-DC differentiation, and in tumor antigen presentation critical for responsiveness to immunotherapy. The identification of a new LXR antagonist opens new treatment avenues for cancer patients

MOPA laser for a compact, cost-effective underwater range-gated imaging system

A compact solid-state 532-nm nanosecond laser system for underwater imaging applications in turbid media is described

Efficient picosecond traveling-wave Raman conversion in a SrWO</inf>4</inf> crystal pumped by multi-Watt MOPA lasers at 1064 nm

Raman conversion with a 50-mm-long SrWO4 crystal in a single-pass, traveling-wave setup has been investigated in both purely steady-state and transient stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) regimes. For steady-state SRS experiment, we employed as a pump source a Q-Switched master oscillator power amplifier (MOPA) laser system at 1064 nm, delivering 325 μJ, 550-ps-long pulses with diffraction limited beam quality and high spectral purity. At 2-kHz repetition rate, we obtained up to 90 μJ pulse energy and 250 ps pulse duration at 1180 nm, with a conversion slope efficiency close to quantum limit. To approach the transient SRS regime, we pumped the same crystal with 16-ps-long pulses from a hybrid MOPA laser system based on a mode-locked Yb-fiber oscillator followed by a diode-pumped bulk Nd:YVO4 power amplifier. At the maximum incident pump average power of 3.75 W, we obtained 1.4 W at the first Stokes Raman-shifted wavelength of 1180 nm (37 % optical-to-optical conversion efficiency), with 15 ps pulse duration and 70 % conversion slope efficiency