The generation of light pulses with attosecond (10-18 seconds) duration is studied using laser drivers operating in the mid-infrared region. This paper first examines the fundamental principles of attosecond formation by Fourier synthesis of a high harmonic comb. Experimental demonstration of the extension of the harmonic cutoff is shown using a 2 micron driver. Then, the crucial spectral phase properties, responsible for the pulse structure on the attosecond time scale, are measured with an all-optical technique using a mix of the fundamental pulse with its second harmonic. The expected 1/λ scaling is verified, which demonstrates a practical way towards pulses approaching the atomic unit of time (24 as). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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