Towards multi-petahertz all-optical electric field sampling

Abstract

We present an all-optical concept for measuring the electric field of light spanning from infrared to extreme ultraviolet with multi-petahertz detection bandwidth. Our approach employs a heterodyne detection of light produced by a highly nonlinear light-matter interaction gate. We establish a numerical model of a complex spectral response for unambiguous electric field extraction and benchmark it against the experiment. We show that the concept can be applied for measuring wavelengths down to about 60 nm with a high sensitivity and dynamic range of about 40 decibels. This opens up unprecedented perspectives for spatio-temporal electric field-resolved experiments and control of broadband dynamics of matter.