Rapid advancements in high-energy ultrafast lasers and free electron lasers have made it possible to obtain extreme physical conditions in the laboratory, which lays the foundation for investigating the interaction between light and matter and probing ultrafast dynamic processes. High temporal resolution is a prerequisite for realizing the value of these large-scale facilities. Here, we propose a new method that has the potential to enable the various subsystems of large scientific facilities to work together well, and the measurement accuracy and synchronization precision of timing jitter are greatly improved by combining a balanced optical cross-correlator (BOC) with near-field interferometry technology. Initially, we compressed a 0.8 ps laser pulse to 95 fs, which not only improved the measurement accuracy by 3.6 times but also increased the BOC synchronization precision from 8.3 fs root-mean-square (RMS) to 1.12 fs RMS. Subsequently, we successfully compensated the phase drift between the laser pulses to 189 as RMS by using the BOC for pre-correction and near-field interferometry technology for fine compensation. This method realizes the measurement and correction of the timing jitter of ps-level lasers with as-level accuracy, and has the potential to promote ultrafast dynamics detection and pump–probe experiments.

We present the generation of high-repetition-rate strong-field terahertz (THz) pulses from a thin 4-N,N-dimethylamino-4’-N’-methyl-stilbazolium 2,4,6-trimethylbenzenesulfonate (DSTMS) organic crystal pumped by an ytterbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser. The generated THz pulse energy reaches 932.8 nJ at 1 kHz repetition rate, with a conversion efficiency of 0.19% and a peak electric field of 819 kV/cm. At a repetition rate of 10 kHz, it is able to maintain a peak electric field of 236 kV/cm and an average THz power of 0.77 mW. The high-repetition-rate, strong-field THz source provides a convenient tool for the study of THz matter manipulation and THz spectroscopy.

The development of high-intensity ultrafast laser facilities provides the possibility to create novel physical phenomena and matter states. The timing fluctuation of the laser pulses is crucial for pump–probe experiments, which is one of the vital means to observe the ultrafast dynamics driven by intense laser pulses. In this paper, we demonstrate the timing fluctuation characterization and control of the front end of a 100-PW laser that is composed of a high-contrast optical parametric amplifier (seed) and a 200-TW optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (preamplifier). By combining the timing jitter measurement with a feedback system, the laser seed and preamplifier are synchronized to the reference with timing fluctuations of 1.82 and 4.48 fs, respectively. The timing system will be a key prerequisite for the stable operation of 100-PW laser facilities and provide the basis for potential pump–probe experiments performed on the laser.

In the emerging era of Internet of Things (IoT), power sources for wireless sensor nodes in conjunction with efficient and secure wireless data transfer are required. Energy harvesting technologies are promising solution toward meeting the requirements for sustainable power sources for the IoT. In this review, we focus on approaches for harvesting stray vibrations and magnetic field due to their abundance in the environment. Piezoelectric materials and piezoelectric–magnetostrictive [magnetoelectric (ME)] composites can be used to harvest vibration and magnetic field, respectively. Currently, such harvesters use modified lead zirconate titanate (or lead-based) piezoelectric materials and ME composites. However, environmental concerns and government regulations require the development of a suitable lead-free replacement for lead-based piezoelectric materials. In the past decade, several lead-free piezoelectric compositions have been developed and demonstrated with promising piezoelectric response. This paper reviews the significant results reported on lead-free piezoelectric materials with respect to high-density energy harvesting, covering novel processing techniques for improving the piezoelectric response and temperature stability. The review of the state-of-the-art studies on vibration and magnetic field harvesting is provided and the results are used to discuss various strategies for designing high-performance energy harvesting devices.