Few-Cycle Pulses by External Compression

Abstract

Recent advances in ultrafast laser technology have led to the generation of light pulses comprising few optical cycles employing different compression techniques. In this chapter, the general scheme of pulse compression will be analyzed, and the most interesting results obtained using different compression schemes will be reviewed. In particular, the hollow-fiber technique, which allows generating sub-5 fs pulses in the millijoule energy range, will be analyzed.