Few-cycle laser pulse characterization on-target using high-harmonic generation from nano-scale solids

• Published in: Optics express Vol. 32; no. 2; pp. 1325 - 1333
• Main Authors: Awad, Mohanad, Manna, Apurba, Hell, Sebastian, Ying, Bo, Ábrók, Levente, Divéki, Zsolt, Cormier, Eric, Kiss, Bálint, Böhmer, Jan, Ronning, Carsten, Han, Seung Heon, George, Antony, Turchanin, Andrey, Pfeiffer, Adrian N, Kübel, Matthias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 15-01-2024
• ISSN: 1094-4087; 1094-4087
• DOI: 10.1364/OE.508062

We demonstrate high-harmonic generation for the time-domain observation of the electric field (HHG-TOE) and use it to measure the waveform of ultrashort mid-infrared (MIR) laser pulses interacting with ZnO thin-films or WS
monolayers. The working principle relies on perturbing HHG in solids with a weak replica of the pump pulse. We measure the duration of few-cycle pulses at 3200 nm, in reasonable agreement with the results of established pulse characterization techniques. Our method provides a straightforward approach to accurately characterize femtosecond laser pulses used for HHG experiments right at the point of interaction.