We propose a spatially chirped quasi-phase-matching (QPM) scheme that enables ultrabroadband second-harmonic-generation (SHG) by using a fan-out QPM grating to frequency-convert a spatially chirped fundamental wave. A “zero-dispersion” 4f system maps the spectral contents of ultrabroadband fundamental onto different spatial coordinates in the Fourier plane, where the fundamental is quasi-monochromatic locally in picosecond duration, fundamentally canceling high-order phase mismatch. A fan-out QPM grating characterized by a linear variation of the poling period along the transverse direction exactly supports the QPM of the spatially chirped beam. We theoretically demonstrate the SHG of an 810-nm, 12.1-fs pulse into a 405-nm, 10.2-fs pulse with a conversion efficiency of 77%.

超强少周期激光脉冲与气体等离子体作用可以产生强的宽带太赫兹脉冲辐射。本文以数值计算为主要工具研究了少周期激光脉冲与气体等离子体成丝作用产生的等离子体电流及对应的太赫兹辐射特性。该过程中的等离子体电离处于多光子电离和隧道电离的过渡阶段。结果显示，该机制能够产生从太赫兹到中红外的超宽带辐射，且辐射的电场振幅是少周期激光脉冲载波相位的周期函数。太赫兹脉冲由激光脉冲脉宽和等离子体电离的时间演化确定，而不是由等离子体密度决定。本文为基于少周期激光脉冲与气体等离子体作用产生超宽带太赫兹辐射的实验提供了一定的理论参考。

We demonstrate an ultra-broadband high temporal contrast infrared laser source based on cascaded optical parametric amplification, hollow-core fiber (HCF) and second harmonic generation processes. In this setup, the spectrum of an approximately 1.8 μm laser pulse has near 1 μm full bandwidth by employing an argon gas-filled HCF. Subsequently, after frequency doubling with cascaded crystals and dispersion compensation by a fused silica wedge pair, 9.6 fs (~3 cycles) and 150 μJ pulses centered at 910 nm with full bandwidth of over 300 nm can be generated. The energy stability of the output laser pulse is excellent with 0.8% (root mean square) over 20 min, and the temporal contrast is >10¹² at –10 ps before the main pulse. The excellent temporal and spatial characteristics and stability make this laser able to be used as a good seed source for ultra-intense and ultrafast laser systems.

采用第一性原理的含时密度泛函理论方法，从理论上研究了在少周期飞秒脉冲辐照下的氩晶体中孤立阿秒脉冲产生的最优控制。系统地研究了相对于晶体的不同激光偏振方向对孤立阿秒脉冲产生的影响，研究表明相对于晶体的激光偏振方向是产生孤立阿秒脉冲的敏感控制参数。对于Ar晶体，在最佳激光偏振方向上产生的孤立阿秒脉冲强度最大，约为相同激光脉冲驱动下Ar原子的11倍。本文研究结果对于理解强驱动脉冲激光下晶体中的阿秒电子动力学也有重要的意义。

通过一维粒子模拟研究了利用相对论少周期强激光与固体密度等离子体表面相互作用实现单个孤立阿秒光脉冲产生的参数条件。主要研究描述相互作用的多维参数，如激光强度、入射角和等离子体标尺长度等，对相对论高次谐波能量转换效率和孤立阿秒光脉冲分离度的影响。研究发现，虽然激光等离子体参数对阿秒光脉冲产生的影响是复杂的，但是存在着能够实现大能量孤立阿秒光脉冲的最佳等离子体标尺长度和最佳入射角。当其他相互作用条件确定时，使用中等强度的相对论强激光可以在较宽的参数范围内实现孤立的阿秒光脉冲。大角度入射时，孤立阿秒光脉冲的分离度较高，能够实现孤立阿秒光脉冲的相互作用参数范围也较宽。

We report an experimental generation of few-cycle pulses at 53 MHz repetition rate. Femtosecond pulses with pulse duration of 181 fs are firstly generated from an optical parametric oscillator (OPO). Then, the pulses are compressed to sub-three-cycle with a hybrid compressor composed of a commercial single-mode fiber and a pair of prisms, taking advantage of the tunability of the OPO and the numerical simulating of the nonlinear compression system. Our compressed optical pulses possess an ultrabroadband spectrum covering over 470 nm bandwidth (at -10dB), and the output intensity fluctuation of our system is less than 0.8%. These results show that our system can effectively generate few-cycle pulses at a repetition rate of tens of megahertz with excellent long-term stability, which could benefit future possible applications.

近年来，可调谐中红外新波段超强超短激光的出现与迅速发展，开辟了强场物理领域中迄今仍很少探索过的参量空间，为开拓超强超短激光与物质相互作用的新物理、新效应及新应用提供了新机遇。文中总结了中红外超强超短激光近年来的发展趋势与研究方向。针对光参量放大、光参量啁啾脉冲放大、中红外脉冲后压缩以及中红外新型光场调控技术4个研究方向，较全面地分析各自的国内外研究现状，并对未来中红外超强超短激光的发展趋势进行了展望。

An all-reflective self-referenced spectral interferometry based on the transient grating (TG) effect is proposed for single-shot measuring of the amplitude and phase of ultrashort pulses in a broadband spectral range. Except for a thin third-order nonlinear medium, which was used to generate the TG signal, no transmitted optics were used in the proposed device, and few-cycle pulses in a broad spectral range from deep UV to mid-IR can be characterized. With a homemade compact and alignment-free device, a 5.0 fs pulse at 800 nm corresponding to about two cycles and a 14.3 fs pulse at 1800 nm corresponding to less than three cycles were successfully characterized.

High-power femtosecond lasers beyond $5~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ are attractive for strong-field physics with mid-infrared (IR) fields but are difficult to scale up. In optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) at mid-IR wavelengths, a nonlinear crystal is vital, and its transmittance, dispersion, nonlinear coefficient and size determine the achievable power and wavelength. OPCPA beyond $5~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ routinely relies on semiconductor crystals because common oxide crystals are not transparent in this spectral range. However, the small size and low damage threshold of semiconductor crystals fundamentally limit the peak power to gigawatts. In this paper, we design a terawatt-class OPCPA system at $5.2~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ based on a new kind of oxide crystal of $\text{La}_{3}\text{Ga}_{5.5}\text{Nb}_{0.5}\text{O}_{14}$ (LGN). The extended transparent range, high damage threshold, superior phase-matching characteristics and large size of LGN enable the generation of 0.13 TW seven-cycle pulses at $5.2~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$. This design fully relies on the state-of-the-art OPCPA technology of an octave-spanning ultrafast Ti:sapphire laser and a thin-disk Yb:YAG laser, offering the performance characteristics of high power, a high repetition rate and a stable carrier–envelope phase.