Development of attosecond optical-phase manipulation for the wave-packet engineering

We have developed the "attosecond phase modulator" (APM) for the manipulati on of optical phases with an accuracy of attoseconds. The interference of t wo 300 fs laser pulses at 252 nm has been taken by using this APM; the time delay between those two pulses is tuned with an accuracy of attoseconds by APM to induce constructive and destructive interferences. The interferogra m measured by scanning the time delay shows a high-frequency oscillation wi th a period of 840 as, Quantum mechanical calculations have been performed to demonstrate that APM is useful in manipulating the relative phase of two nuclear wave packets created in a single molecule and controlling their in terference with an accuracy of attoseconds. Applications of such an ultrapr ecise phase-manipulation technique are discussed to propose a possible new field of science and technology which we call the "attosecond wave-packet e ngineering". (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.