Waveform-controlled field synthesis of sub-two-cycle pulses at the 100 TW peak power level

Abstract

Ultrahigh peak-power laser systems with pulse durations of tens of femtoseconds are widely used as drivers for compact sources of particles and secondary radiation. Conversely, lasers with shorter (a few femtoseconds) pulse durations and lower peak powers enable the generation of isolated attosecond light pulses to study nature with unparalleled temporal resolution. Here we report an enhanced optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier system that produces light pulses with a peak power of about 100 TW and a pulse duration as short as 4.3 fs with full waveform control. Coherent field synthesis generates a broadband spectrum, spanning from the visible to the near infrared, through three cascaded amplification stages, each housing two optical parametric amplifiers that sequentially boost complementary spectral regions. The resulting light transients are waveform-stabilized to <300 mrad and focused to an intensity of 10²¹ W cm⁻² and exhibit an outstanding high dynamic range in temporal contrast. Together, these characteristics render the system well suited for demanding relativistic laser–plasma experiments. Utilizing temporal super-resolution, the pulses are shortened to sub-4-fs duration. This platform is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of attosecond electron and X-ray sources.