optical pulses

APL photonics

The long-standing scientific quest of real-time tracing electronic motion and dynamics in all states of matter has been remarkably benefited by the development of intense laser-based pulsed sources with a temporal resolution in the attosecond [1 attosecond = 10−18 s] time scale. Nowadays, attosecond pulses are routinely produced in laboratories by the synthesis of the frequency components of broadband coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation generated by the interaction of matter with intense femtosecond (fs) pulses. Attosecond pulse metrology aims at the accurate and complete determination of the temporal and phase characteristics of attosecond pulses and is one of the most innovative challenges in the broad field of ultrashort pulse metrology. For more than two decades since coherent high-brilliance broadband XUV sources have become available, fascinating advances in attosecond pulse metrology have led to the development of remarkable techniques for pulse duration measurements as well as the complete reconstruction of those pulses. Nonetheless, new challenges born from diverse fields call upon for additional efforts and continuously innovative ideas in the field. In this perspective article, we follow the history of ultrashort pulse technology tracing attosecond pulse production and characterization approaches, focus on the operation principles of the most commonly used techniques in the region where they interact with matter, address their limitations, and discuss future prospects as well as endeavors of the field to encounter contemporary scientific progress.