Attosecond pulses measured from the attosecond lighthouse

Abstract

The attosecond lighthouse is a method of using ultrafast wavefront rotation with high-harmonic generation to create a series of coherent, spatially separated attosecond pulses. Previously, temporal measurements by photoelectron streaking characterized isolated attosecond pulses created by manipulating the single-atom response. The attosecond lighthouse, in contrast, generates a series of pulses that spatially separate and become isolated by propagation. Here, we show that ultrafast wavefront rotation maintains the single-atom response (in terms of temporal character) of an isolated attosecond pulse over two octaves of bandwidth. Moreover, we exploit the unique property of the attosecond lighthouse - the generation of several isolated pulses - to measure the three most intense pulses. These pulses each have a unique spectrum and spectral phase. © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited.