Ultrastable sources of single-cycle mid-infrared laser pulses

In this talk I will present our advances in generation of ultrashort pulses with lasers based on chromium-doped gain media at 2.3 μm. I will describe how to compress laser pulses down to durations equivalent to a single electric field cycle (sub-7 fs) and how to achieve their unprecedented amplitude and phase stability. These ultrashort pulses are further employed for nonlinear spectral conversion to the mid-IR spectral range covering almost 4 optical octaves (1 - 12 μm). Finally, I will demonstrate our new technique providing control over the evolution of the mid-IR electric field waveforms.