MPQ (Garching, Germany)

The attosecond spectroscopy team at MPQ has developed a high-power OPCPA Mid-IR laser system generating CEP-stable ultrashort (20 fs) laser pulses with up to 5 mJ of pulse energy and 50 W of average power, representing one of the most powerful Mid-IR sources for ultra-short light pulses.
By combining the reliable and well-established thin-disk laser technology with a three-stage OPCPA amplification scheme, this system represents a robust and reliable laser source for many projects in the attosecond physics group, spanning from XUV and attosecond experiments to generation of sub single-cycle light transients for novel field sampling applications.

Reference: Optics Express 31, 24821 (2023)

At our institute we explore the interaction of light and quantum systems, exploiting the two extreme regimes of the wave-particle duality of light and matter. On the one hand we handle light at the single photon level where wave-interference phenomena differ from those of intense light beams. On the other hand, when cooling ensembles of massive particles down to extremely low temperatures we suddenly observe phenomena that go back to their wave-like nature. Furthermore, in attosecond science we explore the interaction of electrons in fast oscillating electromagnetic fields. By observing the motion of the electrons, we are not only able to reconstruct the waveform of the electric field but also use it to observe processes that are too fast for traditional pump-probe spectroscopy.

The various scientific topics can be assigned to the following research areas:

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  Copyright: attoworld

  Quantum matter at extremely low temperatures
• Fundamentals of Quantum Optics
• Attosecond and High-Field Physics: Experiments at extremely short time scales
• High-power non-linear optics and laser systems
• Experiments with single photons and individual atoms
• High-precision spectroscopy of hydrogen and hydrogen-like atoms