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Solid-state light-phase detector

Nature Photonics volume 8, pages 214–218 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Attosecond science relies on the use of intense, waveform-controlled, few-cycle laser pulses1 to control extreme nonlinear optical processes taking place within a fraction of an optical period. A number of techniques are available for retrieving the amplitude envelope and chirp of such few-cycle laser pulses. However, their full characterization requires detection of the absolute offset between the rapidly oscillating carrier wave and the pulse envelope, the carrier–envelope phase (CEP). So far, this has only been feasible with photoelectron spectroscopy, relying on complex vacuum set-ups2,3,4. Here, we present a technique that enables the detection of the CEP of few-cycle laser pulses under ambient conditions. This is based on the CEP-dependence of directly measurable electric currents generated by the electric field of light in a metal–dielectric–metal nanojunction. The device holds promise for routine measurement and monitoring of the CEP in attosecond laboratories.

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Figure 1: Measurement of the absolute CEP of light pulses by optical-field-induced electric currents in a solid-state device.
Figure 2: Calibration of the CEP-dependent current.
Figure 3: Direct determination of absolute CEP via directly measurable photocurrents.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Y. Deng for technical support and fruitful discussions as well as the Munich-Centre for Advanced Photonics for financial support. A.S. acknowledges the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Swiss National Science Foundation. N.K. acknowledges the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Ö.S. acknowledges a Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship (project NANOULOP, no. 302157). R.K. acknowledges an ERC starting grant.

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Author notes

  1. Agustin Schiffrin & Sascha Mühlbrandt

    Present address: Present addresses: Quantum Matter Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Canada, and Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z1 Canada (A.S.), Institute of Microstructure Technology (IMT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), D-76021 Karlsruhe, Germany (S.M.),

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik, Hans-Kopfermann-Strasse 1, Garching, D-85748, Germany

    Tim Paasch-Colberg, Agustin Schiffrin, Nicholas Karpowicz, Stanislav Kruchinin, Sabine Keiber, Olga Razskazovskaya, Sascha Mühlbrandt, Ali Alnaser, Matthias Kübel, Tibor Wittmann, Vladislav S. Yakovlev, Reinhard Kienberger & Ferenc Krausz

  2. Physik-Department, Technische Universität München, James-Franck-Strasse, D-85748, Garching, Germany

    Özge Sağlam, Daniel Gerster, Joachim Reichert, Johannes V. Barth & Reinhard Kienberger

  3. Physics Department, POB2666 American University of Sharjah-Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

    Ali Alnaser

  4. Faculty of Physics and Astronomy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

    Ali Alnaser

  5. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University, Atlanta, 30340, Georgia, USA

    Vadym Apalkov & Mark I. Stockman

  6. Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Am Coulombwall 1, Garching, D-85748, Germany

    Tibor Wittmann, Vladislav S. Yakovlev & Ferenc Krausz

  7. Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Faradayweg 4-6, Berlin, D-14195, Germany

    Ralph Ernstorfer

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Contributions

T.P.-C., A.S., R.K., R.E. and F.K. conceived and supervised the experiments. A.S., T.P.-C., D.G., O.R., S.M., J.R. and J.V.B. participated in sample design and fabrication. T.P.-C., A.S., N.K., A.A., Sa.K. and Ö.S. performed the measurements. St.K., V.A., M.I.S. and V.S.Y. provided the theoretical description and numerical modelling of the solid-state device for phase detection. T.P.-C. and N.K. performed numerical simulations and analysis of the stereo-ATI measurements. T.W. provided the stereo-ATI phasemeter. T.P.-C., A.S., N.K., St.K., M.K., T.W., V.S.Y., R.K., R.E. and F.K. analysed and interpreted the experimental data. All authors discussed the results and contributed to the final manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Tim Paasch-Colberg or Ferenc Krausz.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Paasch-Colberg, T., Schiffrin, A., Karpowicz, N. et al. Solid-state light-phase detector. Nature Photon 8, 214–218 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2013.348

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