Broadband Isolated Attosecond Pulses: Generation, Characterization, and Applications

TL;DR

This review discusses recent advances in generating, characterizing, and applying ultrabroadband isolated attosecond pulses, which are crucial for exploring electron dynamics with unprecedented temporal resolution.

Contribution

It highlights recent progress in producing and utilizing broadband isolated attosecond pulses with spectral bandwidths comparable to their central frequency.

Findings

Generation of 67 as pulses in 2012

Broadband continua covering EUV and soft x-ray wavelengths

Applications in photoelectron spectroscopy and transient absorption

Abstract

The generation of the shortest isolated attosecond pulses requires both broad spectral bandwidth and control of the spectral phase. Rapid progress has been made in both aspects, leading to the generation of the world-record-shortest 67 as light pulses in 2012, and broadband attosecond continua covering a wide range of extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray wavelengths. Such pulses have been successfully applied in photoelectron/photoion spectroscopy and the recently developed attosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to study electron dynamics in matter. In this Review, we discuss the significant recent advancement in the generation, characterization, and application of ultrabroadband isolated attosecond pulses with spectral bandwidth comparable to the central frequency, which can in principle be compressed to a single optical cycle.