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Updated: Jul 9, 2026
09:49
An Experimental Protocol for Femtosecond NIR/UV - XUV Pump-Probe Experiments with Free-Electron Lasers
Published on: October 23, 2018
Intense 8-fs pulse generation in the deep ultraviolet.
C G Durfee1, S Backus, H C Kapteyn
1Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, University of Michigan, 2200 Bonisteel Boulevard, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2099, USA.
Optics Letters
|December 13, 2007
Summary
Scientists generated sub-10-femtosecond (fs) ultraviolet (UV) light pulses using guided-wave frequency conversion. This breakthrough in ultrafast optics opens new possibilities for scientific research and applications requiring ultra-short light pulses.
Area of Science:
- Ultrafast optics
- Nonlinear optics
- Quantum optics
Background:
- Generating ultrashort light pulses is crucial for studying ultrafast phenomena.
- Existing methods for producing deep UV ultrashort pulses face limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate the generation of sub-10-femtosecond (fs) ultraviolet (UV) light pulses for the first time.
- To explore the potential of guided-wave frequency conversion for producing ultrashort UV pulses.
Main Methods:
- Utilized guided-wave frequency conversion with cross-phase modulation in a hollow waveguide.
- Generated a spectral bandwidth of 16 nm centered at 270 nm with a 1 kHz repetition rate.
- Employed a grating pair for pulse compression, achieving 8 fs duration measured by self-diffraction frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG).
Main Results:
- Successfully generated sub-10-fs UV light pulses, a first-time demonstration.
- Achieved pulse compression down to 8 fs duration.
- Obtained compressed pulse energy exceeding 1 μJ with peak power greater than 100 MW.
Conclusions:
- Guided-wave frequency conversion is a viable technique for generating sub-10-fs UV pulses.
- The method shows potential for scaling to higher energies and generating even shorter pulses (approximately 3 fs).
- This advancement offers new tools for exploring fundamental science and developing advanced technologies.
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