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1. Long-wavelength-infrared laser filamentation in solids in the near-single-cycle regime

   https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.389456  

   Qu, Shizhen ; Chaudhary Nagar, Garima ; Li, Wenkai ; Liu, Kun ; Zou, Xiao ; Hon Luen, Seck ; Dempsey, Dennis ; Hong, Kyung-Han ; Jie Wang, Qi ; Zhang, Ying ; et al ( April 2020 , Optics Letters)

   We experimentally demonstrate long-wavelength-infrared (LWIR) femtosecond filamentation in solids. Systematic investigations of supercontinuum (SC) generation and self-compression of the LWIR pulses assisted by laser filamentation are performed in bulk KrS-5 and ZnSe, pumped by$\sim <\#comment/>145\mathrm{f}\mathrm{s}$, 9 µm, 10 µJ pulses from an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier operating at 10 kHz of repetition rate. Multi-octave SC spectra are demonstrated in both materials. While forming stable single filament, 1.5 cycle LWIR pulses with 4.5 µJ output pulse energy are produced via soliton-like self-compression in a 5 mm thick KrS-5. The experimental results quantitatively agree well with the numerical simulation based on the unidirectional pulse propagation equation. This work shows the experimental feasibility of high-energy, near-single-cycle LWIR light bullet generation in solids.

    

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2. Plasma-assisted light bullets and wavelength scaling of laser filamentation in the long-wavelength infrared

   Grynko, Rostislav ; Nagar, Garima ; Shim, Bonggu ( October 2018 , APS Division of Plasma Physics Meeting 2018)

   We model laser filamentation in ZnSe in the mid-infrared (Mid-IR, wavelengths λ = 4 and 6 μm) and the long-wavelength infrared (LWIR, λ = 8 and 10 μm) using carrier-resolved unidirectional pulse propagation equations (UPPE). We predict an unprecedented propagation regime at λ = 8 μm that supports light bullets, which are spatio-temporally non-spreading electromagnetic pulses. Furthermore, in contrast to the previous report in air in the mid-IR, we predict that LWIR light bullets in solids critically rely on plasma-mediated dispersion, which dynamically evolves during multiphoton and tunneling ionization as peak plasma densities reach ρ 6.6 ×10^18 cm-3 . Finally, the plasma-assisted light bullets propagate with sub-cycle pulse durations and peak intensities I = 1.1 ×10^12 W /cm^2 , making them useful for high-harmonic generation and attosecond pulse generation. 

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3. Boosting the efficiency of high harmonic amplification by modulating a plasma-based X-ray laser with the second harmonic of the fundamental frequency laser field

   Khairulin, I.R. ; Antonov, I.R. ; Kocharovskaya, O. ( October 2021 , International conference on Ultrafast Optical Science)

   Attosecond pulses formed by high order harmonics (HHs) of an infrared (IR) laser field is a powerful tool for studying and controlling ultrafast dynamics of electrons in atoms, molecules and solids at its intrinsic time-scale. However, in the X-ray range the energy of attosecond pulses is rather limited. Their amplification is an important but very challenging problem since none of the existing amplifiers can support the corresponding PHz bandwidth. In our previous work [1] we proposed a method for the attosecond pulse amplification in hydrogen-like active medium of a recombination plasma-based X-ray laser dressed by a replica of the fundamental frequency IR field used for the HH generation. Due to the IRfield-induced sub-laser-cycle Stark shift and splitting of the lasing energy levels the gain of the active medium is redistributed over the combination frequencies, separated from the resonance by even multiples of the frequency of the IR field. If the incident HHs forming an attosecond pulse train are tuned in resonance with the induced gain lines and the active plasma medium is strongly dispersive for the modulating IR field, then during the amplification the relative phases of harmonics and (under the optimal choice of the IR field strength) the shape of the amplified pulses will be preserved. In the present work we show the possibility of boosting the efficiency of HH amplification by modulating the active medium of an X-ray laser with the second harmonic of the fundamental frequency IR field. We show that under the action of a laser field (with arbitrary frequency) the gain redistribution occurs not only over the even combination frequencies discussed in [1], but also over the odd frequencies separated from the resonance by odd multiples of the laser frequency. Besides, nearly half of the medium gain is contained in the even induced gain lines, and nearly half in the odd. If the modulating field is the second harmonic of the IR field, used for the generation the HHs and attosecond pulses, then the seeding HHs can be tuned in resonance with both even and odd gain lines simultaneously, which will make the overall gain much higher as compared to the previously considered case of the fundamental frequency modulating field (when only the even gain lines play the role). By the example of the C5+ X-ray laser with 3.38 nm wavelength of the inverted transition we show the possibility of increasing the efficiency of 430 as pulse amplification by 8.5 times when the active medium is modulated with the second harmonic of the fundamental frequency IR field with wavelength 2.1 µm. 

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4. Lithium niobate photonics: Unlocking the electromagnetic spectrum

   https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abj4396  

   Boes, Andreas ; Chang, Lin ; Langrock, Carsten ; Yu, Mengjie ; Zhang, Mian ; Lin, Qiang ; Lončar, Marko ; Fejer, Martin ; Bowers, John ; Mitchell, Arnan ( January 2023 , Science)

   BACKGROUND Electromagnetic (EM) waves underpin modern society in profound ways. They are used to carry information, enabling broadcast radio and television, mobile telecommunications, and ubiquitous access to data networks through Wi-Fi and form the backbone of our modern broadband internet through optical fibers. In fundamental physics, EM waves serve as an invaluable tool to probe objects from cosmic to atomic scales. For example, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory and atomic clocks, which are some of the most precise human-made instruments in the world, rely on EM waves to reach unprecedented accuracies. This has motivated decades of research to develop coherent EM sources over broad spectral ranges with impressive results: Frequencies in the range of tens of gigahertz (radio and microwave regimes) can readily be generated by electronic oscillators. Resonant tunneling diodes enable the generation of millimeter (mm) and terahertz (THz) waves, which span from tens of gigahertz to a few terahertz. At even higher frequencies, up to the petahertz level, which are usually defined as optical frequencies, coherent waves can be generated by solid-state and gas lasers. However, these approaches often suffer from narrow spectral bandwidths, because they usually rely on well-defined energy states of specific materials, which results in a rather limited spectral coverage. To overcome this limitation, nonlinear frequency-mixing strategies have been developed. These approaches shift the complexity from the EM source to nonresonant-based material effects. Particularly in the optical regime, a wealth of materials exist that support effects that are suitable for frequency mixing. Over the past two decades, the idea of manipulating these materials to form guiding structures (waveguides) has provided improvements in efficiency, miniaturization, and production scale and cost and has been widely implemented for diverse applications. ADVANCES Lithium niobate, a crystal that was first grown in 1949, is a particularly attractive photonic material for frequency mixing because of its favorable material properties. Bulk lithium niobate crystals and weakly confining waveguides have been used for decades for accessing different parts of the EM spectrum, from gigahertz to petahertz frequencies. Now, this material is experiencing renewed interest owing to the commercial availability of thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN). This integrated photonic material platform enables tight mode confinement, which results in frequency-mixing efficiency improvements by orders of magnitude while at the same time offering additional degrees of freedom for engineering the optical properties by using approaches such as dispersion engineering. Importantly, the large refractive index contrast of TFLN enables, for the first time, the realization of lithium niobate–based photonic integrated circuits on a wafer scale. OUTLOOK The broad spectral coverage, ultralow power requirements, and flexibilities of lithium niobate photonics in EM wave generation provides a large toolset to explore new device functionalities. Furthermore, the adoption of lithium niobate–integrated photonics in foundries is a promising approach to miniaturize essential bench-top optical systems using wafer scale production. Heterogeneous integration of active materials with lithium niobate has the potential to create integrated photonic circuits with rich functionalities. Applications such as high-speed communications, scalable quantum computing, artificial intelligence and neuromorphic computing, and compact optical clocks for satellites and precision sensing are expected to particularly benefit from these advances and provide a wealth of opportunities for commercial exploration. Also, bulk crystals and weakly confining waveguides in lithium niobate are expected to keep playing a crucial role in the near future because of their advantages in high-power and loss-sensitive quantum optics applications. As such, lithium niobate photonics holds great promise for unlocking the EM spectrum and reshaping information technologies for our society in the future. Lithium niobate spectral coverage. The EM spectral range and processes for generating EM frequencies when using lithium niobate (LN) for frequency mixing. AO, acousto-optic; AOM, acousto-optic modulation; χ (2) , second-order nonlinearity; χ (3) , third-order nonlinearity; EO, electro-optic; EOM, electro-optic modulation; HHG, high-harmonic generation; IR, infrared; OFC, optical frequency comb; OPO, optical paramedic oscillator; OR, optical rectification; SCG, supercontinuum generation; SHG, second-harmonic generation; UV, ultraviolet. 

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5. Back-conversion suppressed parametric frequency conversion for ultrawide bandwidth and ultrahigh efficiency devices

   https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2548361  

   Moses, Jeffrey ; Flemens, Noah ; Ding, Xiaoyue ; Schunemann, Peter G. ; Schepler, Kenneth L. ( March 2020 , SPIE LASE, 2020, San Francisco, California, United States)

   For as widely used a tool as nonlinear optical frequency conversion is for both science and industry, it remains widely limited in eciency and bandwidth (and ultimately also in cost) due to the fundamental problem of backconversion in the nonlinear evolution dynamics. This review paper covers new developments and capabilities in frequency conversion devices, including optical up- and down-converters and ampliers, based on nonlinear evolution dynamics in which back-conversion is suppressed. One such approach is adiabatic frequency conversion, in which the dynamics of rapid adiabatic passage replace the regular cyclic conversion evolution in phase-matched sum- and dierence-frequency generation. This approach has enabled devices far surpassing the conventional eciency-bandwidth trade-o. For example, in chirped quasi-phase matched quadratic crystals, microjouleenergy single-cycle mid-infrared pulses were generated with arbitrary pulse shaping capability, presenting a source with unique features for nonlinear spectroscopy and strong-eld physics applications. We review new developments in the use of optical bers as a cubic nonlinear platform for the same concept, utilizing a tapered core diameter or a pressure gradient to allow up- and down-conversion with ultra-wide bandwidth and high eciency. We also review a newly introduced concept for high eciency optical parametric amplication, via a novel approach for suppressing back-conversion in optical parametric amplication by simultaneously phasematching the idler wave for second harmonic generation. Keywords: Adiabatic wave mixing, ecient optical parametric amplication, octave-spanning 

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