Abstract
Advances in ultrashort-pulse laser technology have led to the generation of few-cycle optical pulses directly from oscillators at high repetition rates, in contrast to external compression schemes. In this chapter, we review the technique of mode locking to obtain few-cycle pulses and describe the major developments leading to sub-two-cycle pulse generation from a Ti:sapphire laser. The master equation approach is used in a consistent way to analyze the nonlinear dynamics of such a laser as well as the noise and tuning properties of its frequency mode comb. Control over the mode combs of a few-cycle Ti:sapphire laser and a Cr:forsterite laser enables their coherent superposition in a long-term stable arrangement. An approach toward synthesizing single-cycle pulses using this technique is presented.
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Kärtner, F.X. et al. Few-Cycle Pulses Directly from a Laser. In: Kärtner, F.X. (eds) Few-Cycle Laser Pulse Generation and Its Applications. Topics in Applied Physics, vol 95. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39849-3_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-39849-3_2
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-20115-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-39849-3
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