Power-scalable subcycle pulses from laser filaments

Compression of optical pulses to ultrashort pulse widths using methods of nonlinear optics is a well-established technology of modern laser science. Extending these methods to pulses with high peak powers, which become available due to the rapid progress of laser technologies, is, however, limited by the universal physical principles. With the ratio P/P(cr) of the peak power of an ultrashort laser pulse, P, to the critical power of self-focusing, P(cr), playing the role of the fundamental number-of-particles integral of motion of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, keeping this ratio constant is a key principle for the power scaling of laser-induced filamentation. Here, we show, however, that, despite all the complexity of the underlying nonlinear physics, filamentation-assisted self-compression of ultrashort laser pulses in the regime of anomalous dispersion can be scaled within a broad range of peak powers against the principle of constant P/P(cr). We identify filamentation self-compression scaling strategies whereby subcycle field waveforms with almost constant pulse widths can be generated without a dramatic degradation of beam quality within a broad range of peak powers, varying from just a few to hundreds of P(cr)

Fiber-optic control and thermometry of single-cell thermosensation logic

Thermal activation of transient receptor potential (TRP) cation channels is one of the most striking examples of temperature-controlled processes in cell biology. As the evidence indicating the fundamental role of such processes in thermosensation builds at a fast pace, adequately accurate tools that would allow heat receptor logic behind thermosensation to be examined on a single-cell level are in great demand. Here, we demonstrate a specifically designed fiber-optic probe that enables thermal activation with simultaneous online thermometry of individual cells expressing genetically encoded TRP channels. This probe integrates a fiber-optic tract for the delivery of laser light with a two-wire microwave transmission line. A diamond microcrystal fixed on the fiber tip is heated by laser radiation transmitted through the fiber, providing a local heating of a cell culture, enabling a well-controlled TRP-assisted thermal activation of cells. Online local temperature measurements are performed by using the temperature-dependent frequency shift of optically detected magnetic resonance, induced by coupling the microwave field, delivered by the microwave transmission line, to nitrogen—vacancy centers in the diamond microcrystal. Activation of TRP channels is verified by using genetically encoded fluorescence indicators, visualizing an increase in the calcium flow through activated TRP channels

Ultrahigh-contrast imaging by temporally modulated stimulated emission depletion

Stimulated emission depletion (STED) is the key optical technology enabling super-resolution microscopy below the diffraction limit. Here, we demonstrate that modulation of STED in the time domain, combined with properly designed lock-in detection, can radically enhance the contrast of fluorescent images of strongly autofluorescent biotissues. In our experiments, the temporally modulated STED technique, implemented with low-intensity continuous-wave laser sources, is shown to provide an efficient all-optical suppression of a broadband fluorescent background, allowing the contrast of fluorescent images of mammal brain tissues tagged with nitrogen-vacancy diamond to be increased by five orders of magnitude

Third- and fifth-harmonic generation by mid-infrared ultrashort pulses: beyond the fifth-order nonlinearity

Third- and fifth-harmonic generation by ultrashort laser pulses in the mid-infrared reveals nonlinear-optical effects beyond the fifth-order nonlinearity and enables, due to an extraordinarily long coherence length, efficient multiplex frequency upconversion of ultrashort mid-IR pulses

Third- and fifth-harmonic generation by mid-infrared ultrashort pulses: beyond the fifth-order nonlinearity

Third- and fifth-harmonic generation by ultrashort laser pulses in the mid-infrared reveals nonlinear-optical effects beyond the fifth-order nonlinearity and enables, due to an extraordinarily long coherence length, efficient multiplex frequency upconversion of ultrashort mid-IR pulses

Self-compression of Sub-TW mid-IR Pulses in Transparent Dielectrics and Filaments Generated in Ambient Air

We report on self-compression of sub-100 fs, >20 mJ md-IR pulses in transparent dielectrics and filaments ignited in ambient air. Combination of both permits generation of TW-level homogeneously compressed two-optical-cycle mid-IR pulses