18-Attosecond Isolated Light Pulses

Researchers in Prof. Meng Han’s ATTO-KSU group have generated and characterized 18-attosecond isolated light pulses, the shortest light pulses experimentally measured to date.

The pulses were produced by high-order harmonic generation driven by a post-compressed high-power ytterbium (Yb) laser. The source spans approximately 50–320 eV with a photon flux above 10¹² photons per second, and the pulse duration was characterized using angle-resolved attosecond streaking in helium.

The work was led by postdoctoral researchers Jingsong Gao and Mahmudul Hasan, together with graduate students Yiming Yuan and Zach Eisenhutt, under the guidance of Prof. Meng Han and in collaboration with researchers from several institutions. The result, published in Nature Communications, demonstrates a powerful attosecond source that combines extremely short pulse duration with the stability and scalability of Yb-laser technology.

Experimental setup for generation and characterization of the 18-attosecond pulses.

A video illustrating the generation, optimization, and characterization of the 18-attosecond light pulse is also available: 18-attosecond light pulse from high-order harmonic generation. The video was created by Yiming Yuan and is hosted by Laser Focus World.

Read more: ATTO-KSU | Meng Han’s JRML page | Nature Communications | Laser Focus World article