Waveform-controlled near-single-cycle milli-joule laser pulses generate sub-10 nm extreme ultraviolet continua

We demonstrate the generation of waveform-controlled laser pulses with 1 mJ pulse energy and a full-width-half-maximum duration of similar to 4 fs, therefore lasting less than two cycles of the electric field oscillating at their carrier frequency. The laser source is carrier-envelope-phase stabilized and used as the backbone of a kHz repetition rate source of high-harmonic continua with unprecedented flux at photon energies between 100 and 200 eV (corresponding to a wavelength range between 12-6 nm respectively). In combination we use these tools for the complete temporal characterization of the laser pulses via attosecond streaking spectroscopy. (c) 2012 Optical Society of America