Strong-field phenomena driven by mid-infrared ultrafast sources

The development of ultrafast and intense laser sources has paved the way to the study of laser-matter interaction in the strong-field regime, where the amplitude of the laser field becomes comparable to the Coulomb field seen by electrons in the proximity of their parent ion. This realm embraces numerous phenomena, such as high-order harmonic generation, tunnel photoionization, laser-induced electron diffraction and holography, ponderomotive electron streaking, and so forth. For a long time, the Ti:Sapphire laser has been the sole workhorse of strong-field scientists; the recent development of intense and tunable ultrafast sources operating in the mid-infrared added an extra dimension to strong-field investigations, with valuable benefits in the understanding of several phenomena and in the development of high-photon-energy coherent sources. In this work we review the recent achievements in strong-field science which were allowed by the exploitation of mid-infrared ultrafast lasers.