CEP-Stable 100 kHz Nonlinearly Compressed YDFA Source for HHG

International audienceSummary form only given. Over the last years, the interest for high repetition rate (>100kHz) sources used for high harmonic generation (HHG) has been growing up widely. Indeed, increasing laser repetition rate allows, for example, to drastically increase the HHG photon flux. Moreover, additional benefits such as improved statistics and signal-to-noise ratio or a reduced acquisition time are also paramount for low-interaction probability experiments. Using nonlinear compression scheme, Yb-doped fiber amplifiers (YDFA) are now able to provide the performances suitable for HHG-related applications. However, one of the remaining bottleneck of these sources is the lack of carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilization. So far, CEP stabilization of ytterbium-doped amplifiers has only been demonstrated for oscillator or low energy systems. We have demonstrated a high energy FCPA operated at 100 kHz showing excellent CEP stability. We believe that power and energy scaling toward > 100 W, > lmJ, with CEP -stabilization is within reach. Together with recently demonstrated ultra -high efficiency nonlinear compression to few cycle pulse duration [6], this new kind of source promises to disrupt applications in attoscience

Corrélations vectorielles dans la photoionisation dissociative de H

Nous avons démontré la faisabilité de mesures de corrélations vectorielles dans la photoionisation dissociative de H2 auprès d'une source XUV femtoseconde d'harmonique d'ordre élevé cadencée à 1 kHz [1]. Dans ce contexte, nous présentons les miroirs multicouches conçus, réalisés et caractérisés par la Centrale d'Elaboration et de Métrologie d'Optiques X pour sélectionner cette harmonique 21 à ∼32 eV (∼40 nm). Nous avons mesuré une série d'observables, de la distribution en coïncidence des énergies cinétiques de l'ion fragment et de l'électron aux distributions angulaires du photoélectron émis dans le référentiel moléculaire (MFPADs), ainsi que leur évolution avec l'énergie cinétique de l'ion fragment. Ces résultats ouvrent la voie à des études résolues en temps, basées sur la mesure des MFPADs, de la dynamique femtoseconde des états doublements excités Q1 et Q2 de H2

Applications of ultrafast wavefront rotation in highly nonlinear optics

This paper provides an overview of ultrafast wavefront rotation of femtosecond laser pulses and its various applications in highly nonlinear optics, focusing on processes that lead to the generation of high-order harmonics and attosecond pulses. In this context, wavefront rotation can be exploited in different ways, to obtain new light sources for time-resolved studies, called 'attosecond lighthouses', to perform time-resolved measurements of nonlinear optical processes, using 'photonic streaking', or to track changes in the carrier-envelope relative phase of femtosecond laser pulses. The basic principles are explained qualitatively from different points of view, the experimental evidence obtained so far is summarized, and the perspectives opened by these effects are discussed. \ua9 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Theory of Attosecond Pulse Generation

This chapter will discuss the theoretical aspects of producing attosecond pulses via the process of high harmonic generation driven by an intense infrared laser pulse. We will discuss the generation of attosecond pulses both at the single atom and at the macroscopic level, including a discussion of phase matching. Our goal is to broaden the understanding of attosecond pulse generation beyond the single atom level, where one thinks about the emission in terms of the laser-atom interaction alone, to include macroscopic aspects of this process. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013