Abstract

We report quasi-one-optical-cycle pulse compression of the ultrabroadband white-light continuum generated using both induced-phase modulation (IPM) and self-phase modulation (SPM) in a 3.0 atom Ar-gas-filled hollow fiber. Fundamental and second harmonic waves of amplified $30\mathrm{fs}$ Ti:sapphire laser pulses were irradiated into a $37\mathrm{cm}$ hollow fiber with an inner diameter of $140\mu \mathrm{m}$. When the two pulses were temporally overlapped in the hollow fiber, the white-light continuum with the wavelength range of $350–1050\mathrm{nm}$ was generated. The spectral phase of the white-light continuum was measured by a modified spectral interferometry for direct electric-field reconstruction, and quasi-automatic feedback chirp compensation was carried out using a programmable liquid-crystal spatial light modulator placed on the Fourier plane of a $4\text{-}f$ system. As a result, $2.6\mathrm{fs}$, $3.6\mu \mathrm{J}$, $1.3\text{\hspace{0.17em} cycle}$ transform-limited (TL) pulses with a peak power up to $1.4\mathrm{GW}$ at a $1\mathrm{kHz}$ repetition rate were generated in the visible to near-infrared region (the over-one-octave bandwidth of $450–975\mathrm{nm}$). The fact that the $\mathrm{IPM}+\mathrm{SPM}$ light was compressed to the TL duration is important toward the generation of a single, intense one-optical-cycle pulse in the visible region.

© 2007 Optical Society of America

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