title: 90 GW peak power few-cycle mid-infrared pulses from an optical parametric amplifier.
abstract: We demonstrate a compact 20 Hz repetition-rate mid-IR OPCPA system operating at a central wavelength of 3900 nm with the tail-to-tail spectrum extending over 600 nm and delivering 8 mJ pulses that are compressed to 83 fs (<7 optical cycles). Because of the long optical period (∼13 fs) and a high peak power, the system opens a range of unprecedented opportunities for tabletop ultrafast science and is particularly attractive as a driver for a highly efficient generation of ultrafast coherent x-ray continua for biomolecular and element specific imaging.
authors.affiliation: Photonics Institute, Vienna University of Technology, Gusshausstrasse 27-387, A-1040, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Giedrius
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andriukaitis
authors.forename: Tadas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Balčiūnas
authors.forename: Skirmantas
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ališauskas
authors.forename: Audrius
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pugžlys
authors.forename: Andrius
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baltuška
authors.forename: Tenio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Popmintchev
authors.forename: Ming-Chang
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Murnane
authors.forename: Henry C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Kapteyn