A review of high-power femtosecond MID-IR laser systems for attosecond science and spectroscopy

Title : A review of high-power femtosecond MID-IR laser systems for attosecond science and spectroscopy

Abstract:

A review is presented of current high power, femtosecond (< 100fs), laser systems at mid-infrared (MIR-IR) wavelengths (3 – 12 nm), pumped by Yb-based solid-state lasers. The technology used to achieve a high-power laser source is optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) together with white-light-generation (WLG). This combination makes it possible to provide carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stable femtosecond pulses, which are scalable to high power levels. In this review we cover basic design features of our OPCPAs, including the important optical nonlinear materials that can withstand high thermal loads and the various OPCPA-pump technologies. Finally, we demonstrate some applications of these lasers to attosecond science, biology and spectroscopy. An important feature of these new OPCPAs is their reliability and compact design, requiring no complex cooling systems.

Biography:

Dr. Mark J. Prandolini studied physics at the University of New South Wales (Australia) and graduated with a PhD in 1994. He then had research postdoctoral positions at University of New South Wales (Australia), University Leuven (Belgium), Freie Universität Berlin (Germany), Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (Germany), and DESY (Germany). He is also cofounder of the laser firm Class 5 Photonics GmbH and is also the Technical Leader of an Ultrafast Laser Laboratory of the Universität Hamburg (Germany). He has over 70 publications and two review articles.