# Laser wakefield driven generation of isolated CEP-tunable intense sub-cycle pulses

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel plasma-based method to generate intense, CEP-tunable sub-cycle pulses across a broad frequency range, with potential applications in ultrafast science and attosecond physics.

## Contribution

A new scheme utilizing laser-driven plasma wakefields and seed pulse amplification for generating CEP-tunable, intense sub-cycle pulses across mid-infrared to ultraviolet frequencies.

## Key findings

- Achieved up to 1% laser-to-pulse conversion efficiency.
- Predicted generation of relativistically intense sub-cycle pulses.
- Demonstrated tunability of pulse frequency and CEP via plasma and laser parameters.

## Abstract

Sources of intense, ultra-short electromagnetic pulses enable applications such as attosecond pulse generation, control of electron motion in solids and the observation of reaction dynamics at the electronic level. For such applications both high-intensity and carrier envelope phase~(CEP) tunability are beneficial, yet hard to obtain with current methods. In this work we present a new scheme for generation of isolated CEP-tunable intense sub-cycle pulses with central frequencies that range from the midinfrared to the ultraviolet. It utilizes an intense laser pulse which drives a wake in a plasma, co-propagating with a long-wavelength seed pulse. The moving electron density spike of the wake amplifies the seed and forms a sub-cycle pulse. Controlling the CEP of the seed pulse, or the delay between driver and seed leads to CEP-tunability, while frequency tunability can be achieved by adjusting the laser and plasma parameters. Our 2D and 3D Particle-In-Cell simulations predict laser-to-sub-cycle-pulse conversion efficiencies up to 1%, resulting in relativistically intense sub-cycle pulses.