Spectral broadening for pulse compression using liquid alcohols

Abstract

Although gases, and more recently solids, have been used to create few-cycle pulses, we explore using liquid alcohols for spectral broadening and femtosecond pulse compression. By using a series of 1 cm cuvettes filled with 1-decanol, we have compressed a pulse from 83.6 fs down to 31.3 fs with a spectrum capable of supporting 25 fs pulses without filamentation. We measure the nonlinear index of refraction for various liquids, measuring n2 = (6.8 ± 0.5) × 10-20 m2/W for 1-decanol. We demonstrate liquids to be a compact, simple, versatile, and cost-effective material to obtain broad spectra.