Pulse synthesis in the single-cycle regime from independent mode-locked lasers using attosecond-precision feedback

We report the synthesis of a nearly single-cycle (3.7 fs), ultrafast optical pulse train at 78 MHz from the coherent combination of a passively mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser ( 6 fs pulses) and a fiber supercontinuum (1-1.4 mu m, with 8 fs pulses). The coherent combination is achieved via orthogonal, attosecond-precision synchronization of both pulse envelope timing and carrier envelope phase using balanced optical cross-correlation and balanced homodyne detection, respectively. The resulting pulse envelope, which is only 1.1 optical cycles in duration, is retrieved with two-dimensional spectral shearing interferometry (2DSI). To our knowledge, this work represents the first stable synthesis of few-cycle pulses from independent laser sources. (c) 2012 Optical Society of America