Hybrid optical parametric amplifier for few-cycle infrared and te-rahertz pulses generation

We demonstrate a hybrid optical parametric amplifier delivering few-cycle infrared and terahertz pulses. Different components of the white light seed are amplified successively generating broadband signal and idler pulses. After dispersion compensation, the signal pulses are compressed to 15.2 fs with a pulse energy of 380 μJ. Meanwhile, the idler pulses are employed to produce terahertz waves via different frequency generation. The generated frequency is tunable from 18 to 30 THz with a peak pulse energy of 4 μJ. The study provides a compact and scalable scheme for the generation of few-cycle infrared and terahertz waves.