Work

Towards intense single-digit attosecond pulses with a 100-mJ-class mid-infrared sub-cycle laser

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The duration of isolated attosecond pulses created via high-order harmonic generation is determined by the number of optical cycles in the driving laser. Achieving shorter attosecond soft x-ray pulses requires minimizing the number of cycles while maintaining a high pulse energy. Here, we demonstrate a carrier-envelope-phase-stable, 100-mJ-class sub-cycle mid-infrared laser that produces a supercontinuum coherent soft-x-ray with unprecedented bandwidth. The system delivers 50-mJ, 6.7-fs (0.88-cycle) pulses at a center wavelength of 2.26 μm-over two orders of magnitude more energetic than any previous sub-cycle laser. We applied the system to high-order harmonic generation and compared the results to simulations based on the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation to identify unique features of sub-cycle lasers. This work represents a decisive step toward high-energy half-cycle lasers and high-energy single-digit attosecond soft x-ray pulses that can be used to probe matter and light-matter interactions at previously inaccessible temporal resolutions.

Source: Science Advances

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aed5357

Authors: Kaito Nishimiya, Rambabu Rajpoot, Eiji J. Takahashi

Institution: RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics

Language: English

Topic: Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,500

Funders: Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, RIKEN