Ultrabroadband double-chirped mirror pairs covering one octave of bandwidth

Summary form only given. Sub-10-fs pulse generation via external compression as well as direct generation from Kerr-lens mode-locked lasers relies on chirped mirrors for dispersion compensation. Pulses shorter than two optical cycles have been generated directly from the laser using double-chirped mirrors (DCMs) and CaF/sub 2/ prisms for precise control of the intracavity group delay dispersion (GDD) over almost 400-nm bandwidth. To approach the generation of single cycle pulses laser optics with a bandwidth of more than one octave are necessary. There have been several proposals to increase the bandwidth by mutual compensation of GDD oscillations using pure computer optimization. So far this resulted in a low reflectivity of less than 95% over almost half of the bandwidth considered. An analytic design of double chirped mirror (DCM) pairs covering one octave of bandwidth with reflectivity greater than 95.5% and improved dispersion characteristics is presented.