Monolithic carrier-envelope phase-stabilization scheme

A new scheme for stabilizing the carrier-envelope (CE) phase of a few-cycle laser pulse train is demonstrated. Self-phase modulation and difference-frequency generation in a single periodically poled lithium niobate crystal that transmits the main laser beam allows CE phase locking directly in the usable output. The monolithic scheme obviates the need for splitting off a fraction of the laser output for CE phase control, coupling into microstructured fiber, and separation and recombination of spectral components. As a consequence, the output yields 6-fs, 800-nm pulses with an unprecedented degree of short- and long-term reproducibility of the electric field waveform. (C) 2005 Optical Society of America.