Carrier-envelope phase stabilization with sub-10 as residual timing jitter

Area of Science:

• Ultrafast optics
• Laser physics
• Attosecond science

Background:

• Mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillators are crucial for generating ultrashort laser pulses.
• Carrier-envelope phase (CEP) drift limits the precision and stability of these lasers.
• Accurate CEP stabilization is essential for applications in attosecond science and high-field physics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilization of a mode-locked Ti:sapphire oscillator.
• To achieve unprecedentedly low timing jitter.
• To present a hybrid stabilization approach combining feedback and feed-forward control.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a conventional feedback loop controlling oscillator pump power with an acousto-optic modulator (AOM).
• Implemented a high-bandwidth feed-forward stabilization scheme using an acousto-optic frequency shifter (AOFS).
• Performed numerical optimization of photonic crystal fiber length for octave-spanning spectrum generation and f-to-2f interferometer sensitivity.

Main Results:

• Achieved carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilization with a timing jitter of eight attoseconds.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of the combined feedback and feed-forward stabilization approach.
• Presented optimized parameters for photonic crystal fiber length for enhanced spectral generation and interferometer sensitivity.

Conclusions:

• The hybrid stabilization technique significantly reduces timing jitter in Ti:sapphire oscillators.
• This advancement enables more precise control over ultrashort laser pulses for advanced applications.
• The findings contribute to the development of more stable and reliable ultrafast laser systems.