Abstract
The long-standing scientific quest of real-time tracing electronic motion and dynamics in all states of matter has been remarkably benefited by the development of intense laser-based pulsed sources with a temporal resolution in the attosecond [1 attosecond = 10−18 s] time scale. Nowadays, attosecond pulses are routinely produced in laboratories by the synthesis of the frequency components of broadband coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation generated by the interaction of matter with intense femtosecond (fs) pulses. Attosecond pulse metrology aims at the accurate and complete determination of the temporal and phase characteristics of attosecond pulses and is one of the most innovative challenges in the broad field of ultrashort pulse metrology. For more than two decades since coherent high-brilliance broadband XUV sources have become available, fascinating advances in attosecond pulse metrology have led to the development of remarkable techniques for pulse duration measurements as well as the complete reconstruction of those pulses. Nonetheless, new challenges born from diverse fields call upon for additional efforts and continuously innovative ideas in the field. In this perspective article, we follow the history of ultrashort pulse technology tracing attosecond pulse production and characterization approaches, focus on the operation principles of the most commonly used techniques in the region where they interact with matter, address their limitations, and discuss future prospects as well as endeavors of the field to encounter contemporary scientific progress.
Highlights
The complete description of light-matter interaction was always considered to be one of the most challenging tasks for the scientific community as it involves the understanding of the coupled dynamics of the building blocks of matter such as nuclei, electrons, and photons
(CPA) technology6,7] at the end of the 1980s, it became possible for the scientific community to access ultrafast molecular dynamics in the time domain8 and perform studies beyond the perturbative regime
The latter had a tremendous impact on atomic and molecular physics and eventually led to the development of the semiclassical “three-step” model9–11 underlying the generation of high harmonics (HH)12–14 and attosecond science,15–19 which have been recently linked with quantum optical technology20 through the quantum optical description of strongly laser driven interactions
Summary
The complete description of light-matter interaction was always considered to be one of the most challenging tasks for the scientific community as it involves the understanding of the coupled dynamics of the building blocks of matter such as nuclei, electrons, and photons. (CPA) technology6,7] at the end of the 1980s, it became possible for the scientific community to access ultrafast molecular dynamics in the time domain and perform studies beyond the perturbative regime. In this strong-field regime, the system is exposed to laser electric fields comparable to or stronger than the field of the atomic potential. The latter had a tremendous impact on atomic and molecular physics and eventually led to the development of the semiclassical “three-step” model underlying the generation of high harmonics (HH) and attosecond science, which have been recently linked with quantum optical technology through the quantum optical description of strongly laser driven interactions.
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