Seminarium Optyczne

The generation of ultrashort laser pulses comprising a mere few or even a single electric-field oscillation,and the possibility to shape such electric-field waveforms are key technologies for investigating andcontrolling fundamental light-matter interactions on the sub-femtosecond time scale. Extending the sub-cycle waveform control from the previously - demonstrated near-infrared (near-IR) to the mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range is crucial for several applications, including next-generation light-wave-driven electronicsignal processing in low-bandgap highly-doped semiconductors and field-resolved spectroscopy ofbiological systems.Here, we present a novel approach for the generation and control of single-cycle mid-IR waveforms.Down-conversion of carrier-envelope-phase (CEP) stable 7-fs single-cycle pulses from a Cr:ZnS laser in asingle ZnGeP2¬¬ crystal provides a 3.7-octave supercontinuum, stretching from the near-IR to the mid-IRfingerprint region. By exploiting the CEP-dependence of the underlying cascaded intra-pulse difference-frequency-generation (IPDFG) we can continuously adjust the waveforms of the single-cycle mid-IRtransients. The unprecedented CEP-stability (5.9 mrad) of our Cr:ZnS driving laser results in highlyreproducible control over the waveform generation