Abstract

Since the invention of frequency comb lasers, now 10 years ago, these devices have made a profound impact in many fields of physics. For this reason Ted Hänsch and John Hall received the Noble Prize 2005 in Physics in part for this invention. Comb lasers are based on mode-locked lasers, which produce a repetitive train of ultrafast pulses. With these devices it has become possible to control the electromagnetic wave of optical pulses, and to perform extremely precise frequency measurements over a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum. This has resulted in the emergence of attosecond science, and it now makes atomic clocks and tests of the basic laws of physics possible with unprecedented precision. In the talk I will give an overview of these fascinating possibilities with frequency combs, and also discuss an experiment at the VU where comb generation at 51 nm is used to test QED theory in helium atoms.