dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaDetermination of the Carrier-Envelope Phase of Few-Cycle Laser Pulses with Terahertz-Emission Spectroscopy
| Authors | Markus Kress, Torsten Loeffler, Mark D. Thomson, Reinhard Doerner, Hartmut Gimpel, Karl Zrost, Thorsten Ergler, Robert Moshammer, Uwe Morgner, Joachim Ullrich, Hartmut G. Roskos |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0603134 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0603134 |
| DOI | 10.1038/nphys286 |
Abstract
The availability of few-cycle optical pulses opens a window to physical phenomena occurring on the attosecond time scale. In order to take full advantage of such pulses, it is crucial to measure and stabilise their carrier-envelope (CE) phase, i.e., the phase difference between the carrier wave and the envelope function. We introduce a novel approach to determine the CE phase by down-conversion of the laser light to the terahertz (THz) frequency range via plasma generation in ambient air, an isotropic medium where optical rectification (down-conversion) in the forward direction is only possible if the inversion symmetry is broken by electrical or optical means. We show that few-cycle pulses directly produce a spatial charge asymmetry in the plasma. The asymmetry, associated with THz emission, depends on the CE phase, which allows for a determination of the phase by measurement of the amplitude and polarity of the THz pulse.
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"abstract": "The availability of few-cycle optical pulses opens a window to physical\nphenomena occurring on the attosecond time scale. In order to take full\nadvantage of such pulses, it is crucial to measure and stabilise their\ncarrier-envelope (CE) phase, i.e., the phase difference between the carrier\nwave and the envelope function. We introduce a novel approach to determine the\nCE phase by down-conversion of the laser light to the terahertz (THz) frequency\nrange via plasma generation in ambient air, an isotropic medium where optical\nrectification (down-conversion) in the forward direction is only possible if\nthe inversion symmetry is broken by electrical or optical means. We show that\nfew-cycle pulses directly produce a spatial charge asymmetry in the plasma. The\nasymmetry, associated with THz emission, depends on the CE phase, which allows\nfor a determination of the phase by measurement of the amplitude and polarity\nof the THz pulse.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0603134",
"authors": [
"Markus Kress",
"Torsten Loeffler",
"Mark D. Thomson",
"Reinhard Doerner",
"Hartmut Gimpel",
"Karl Zrost",
"Thorsten Ergler",
"Robert Moshammer",
"Uwe Morgner",
"Joachim Ullrich",
"Hartmut G. Roskos"
],
"categories": [
"physics.optics",
"physics.plasm-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1038/nphys286",
"title": "Determination of the Carrier-Envelope Phase of Few-Cycle Laser Pulses with Terahertz-Emission Spectroscopy",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0603134"
},
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