Generation of sub-two-cycle millijoule infrared pulses in an optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier and their application to soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy with high-flux high harmonics

An optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier (OPCPA) based on bismuth triborate (BiB₃O₆, BIBO) crystals has been developed to deliver 1.5 mJ, 10.1 fs optical pulses around 1.6 μm with a repetition rate of 1 kHz and a stable carrier-envelope phase. The seed and pump pulses of the BIBO-based OPCPA are provided from two Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) systems. In both CPA systems, transmission gratings are used in the stretchers and compressors that result in a high throughput and robust operation without causing any thermal problem and optical damage. The seed pulses of the OPCPA are generated by intrapulse frequency mixing of a spectrally broadened continuum, temporally stretched to approximately 5 ps then, and amplified to more than 1.5 mJ. The amplified pulses are compressed in a fused silica block down to 10.1 fs. This BIBO-based OPCPA has been applied to high-flux high harmonic generation beyond the carbon K edge at 284 eV. The high-flux soft-x-ray continuum allows measuring the x-ray absorption near-edge structure of the carbon K edge within 2 min, which is shorter than a typical measurement time using synchrotron-based light sources. This laser-based table-top soft-x-ray source is a promising candidate for ultrafast soft x-ray spectroscopy with femtosecond to attosecond time resolution. (paper)