Nanowerk June 8, 2018
An international team of researchers (USA – MIT, The Ohio State University, Germany) used an optical parametric amplifier to produce pulses which cover different spectral ranges and whose amplitudes and phases can be fixed relative to one another. The amplifier has a very short time delay between the two pulses so that they combine into a wide-bandwidth pulse with no need for noise control. The pulse could be made even shorter than the period of the wave because constructive interference occurs at its center, while destructive interference ‘trims’ the pulse at its edges. When the pulses are directed on to certain solids, they can stimulate the emission of higher energy photons in the deep-ultraviolet or extreme-ultraviolet regions. The technique would allow observations of even faster processes within materials… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
A new laser pulse synthesizer developed at SIMTech produces extremely short mid-infrared pulses that enable observations of ultrafast processes within solids. (Image: Sophie Laidlaw/EyeEm/Getty)