Broad-band Mid-infrared Laser Generation via Cascading Deceleration in Plasma Channels

TL;DR

This paper introduces a plasma-based cascaded deceleration method for generating broadband mid-infrared lasers with high efficiency and low energy input, suitable for high-repetition-rate systems and spectroscopic applications.

Contribution

It presents a novel cascaded deceleration scheme in plasma channels that enables broadband MIR laser generation with high conversion efficiency and low energy requirements.

Findings

Over 30% of input energy converted to MIR output

Broadband MIR spans 0.58 to 6.86 μm with gigawatt peak power

Spectral bandwidth increases with laser intensity

Abstract

Plasma-based mid-infrared (MIR) laser generation has garnered significant interest owing to its advantage of high output power, continuous wavelength tunability, and ultrashort pulse durations. However, existing methodologies predominantly depend on high-intensity inputs at the hertz frequency level, with spectral energy concentrated near the central frequency, rendering them unsuitable for spectroscopic applications. This paper proposes and demonstrates a cascaded deceleration scheme that enables the generation of broadband MIR lasers with low energy inputs compatible with high-repetition-rate laser systems. By confining the input laser within a plasma channel, this approach preserves the laser intensity, which not only sustains the decelerating field strength but also enables the cumulative effect of deceleration across multiple distinct bubbles. Numerical simulations demonstrate that more than 30% of the 23 mJ input energy is converted into a broadband MIR output spanning wavelength from 0.58 to 6.86 {\mu}m, achieving peak powers on the order of gigawatts. The output exhibits unique time-frequency characteristics, defined by spectral sub-bands organized in a temporal sequence, wherein each sub-band comprises few-cycle pulses. Parametric analyses reveal that the spectral bandwidth broadens with increasing laser intensity, provided that the plasma density being adequate to ensure a sufficiently short deceleration length. This approach provides a practical, efficient route to broadband ultra-intense mid-infrared sources, promising for applications in Fourier transform spectroscopy and laser-induced electron diffraction.