Development and Application of Sub-Cycle Mid-Infrared Source Based on Laser Filamentation

This paper is a perspective article which summarizes the development and application of sub-cycle mid-infrared (MIR) pulses generated through a laser filament. The generation scheme was published in Applied Sciences in 2013. The spectrum of the MIR pulse spreads from 2 to 50 mu m, corresponding to multiple octaves, and the pulse duration is 6.9 fs, namely, 0.63 times the period of the carrier wavelength, 3.3 mu m. The extremely broadband and highly coherent light source has potential for various applications. The light source has been applied for advanced ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy by several research groups. As another application example, single-shot detection of absorption spectra in the entire MIR range by the use of chirped-pulse upconversion with a gas medium has been demonstrated. Although the measurement of the field oscillation of the sub-cycle MIR pulse was not trivial, the waveform of the sub-cycle pulse has been completely characterized with a newly developed method, frequency-resolved optical gating capable of carrier-envelope phase determination. A particular behavior of the spectral phase of the sub-cycle pulse has been revealed through the waveform characterization.