Direct characterization of tuneable few-femtosecond dispersive-wave pulses in the deep UV

Dispersive wave emission (DWE) in gas-filled hollow-core dielectric waveguides is a promising source of tuneable coherent and broadband radiation, but so far the generation of few-femtosecond pulses using this technique has not been demonstrated. Using in-vacuum frequency-resolved optical gating, we directly characterize tuneable 3 fs pulses in the deep ultraviolet generated via DWE. Through numerical simulations, we identify that the use of a pressure gradient in the waveguide is critical for the generation of short pulses. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America