Optical detection of attosecond ionization induced by a few-cycle laser field in a transparent dielectric material

We observe an optical signature induced by the modulation of electron density inside a bulk transparent solid that is quasiperiodically ionized on an attosecond time scale by electric field peaks of a focused few-cycle laser pulse. The emitted optical signal resulting from the attosecond ionization dynamics is spatially, temporally and spectrally isolated from concomitant optical responses through the use of a noncollinear pump-probe technique. The method holds promise for developing an attosecond metrology for bulk solids, in which, unlike in the established attosecond metrology of gases and surfaces, direct detection of charged particles is unfeasible.