Wavelength-tunable few-cycle mid-infrared laser pulses from frequency domain optical parametric amplification

For a decade, a number of ultrafast science applications [1] - [3] involve high-field coherent radiation in the mid-infrared region, motivating the development of such laser sources. In this context, we have designed an optical setup able to generate few-cycle pulses around 10 µm, with 20 µJ of energy per pulse providing carrier-to-envelop phase (CEP) stability and control [4] . As depicted in figure 1 , the laser source is based on a frequency domain optical parametric amplifier (FOPA) [5] , coupled with intrapulse difference frequency generation (DFG). From an incident pulse of 45 fs at 800 nm, two spectral bands around 1.8 µm are amplified and shaped in the FOPA before being converted to the mid-infrared by DFG.