1. |
- Major, B., et al.
(author)
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Investigation of high harmonic generation using a high-power, 5-fs laser in a loose-focusing geometry
- 2017
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In: 2017 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC). - : IEEE. - 9781509067367
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Summary form only given. Since its first observation almost three decades ago high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in gases became a reliable source of extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses, which gave the possibility to study electronic processes on their natural timescale [1, 2]. While the main building blocks of the experimental setups for gas HHG are the same in almost all cases, the focusing or medium geometry varies from realization to realization based on, for example, the available laser power [3, 4].In this work we study HHG in a loose focusing geometry by focusing a ~50-mm diameter (FWHM) beam with a mirror of 16-m focal length (f-number ~320). The main subject of this analysis is to compare low pressure - long interaction length (few millibars and tens of centimeters) with high pressure - short medium (hundreds of millibars and a few millimeters) scenarios and understand the underlying reasons for the observed XUV radiation parameters. The experiments are carried out with on target 35 mJ, sub-5 fs, 740 nm central wavelength pulses provided by an optical parametric synthesizer [5], producing high-energy pulses at the 100 eV spectral region [6]. The theoretical analysis is performed by simulation code based on a three-dimensional nonadiabatic model [7,8]. The good agreement between the experimental and simulation data (see Fig. 1) allows us to use the theoretical findings to gain better insight on the exact phase-matching processes providing the observed features. This detailed description is used to draw general conclusions of the high-harmonic generation process.
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2. |
- Rivas, D. E., et al.
(author)
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Next Generation Driver for Attosecond and Laser-plasma Physics
- 2017
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Nature Publishing Group. - 2045-2322. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The observation and manipulation of electron dynamics in matter call for attosecond light pulses, routinely available from high-order harmonic generation driven by few-femtosecond lasers. However, the energy limitation of these lasers supports only weak sources and correspondingly linear attosecond studies. Here we report on an optical parametric synthesizer designed for nonlinear attosecond optics and relativistic laser-plasma physics. This synthesizer uniquely combines ultra-relativistic focused intensities of about 10(20)W/cm(2) with a pulse duration of sub-two carrier-wave cycles. The coherent combination of two sequentially amplified and complementary spectral ranges yields sub-5-fs pulses with multi-TW peak power. The application of this source allows the generation of a broad spectral continuum at 100-eV photon energy in gases as well as high-order harmonics in relativistic plasmas. Unprecedented spatio-temporal confinement of light now permits the investigation of electric-field-driven electron phenomena in the relativistic regime and ultimately the rise of next-generation intense isolated attosecond sources.
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3. |
- Tsatrafyllis, N., et al.
(author)
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The ion microscope as a tool for imaging the ion distribution produced by linear and non-linear processes at the focus of an XUV beam
- 2017
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In: 2017 Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe & European Quantum Electronics Conference (CLEO/Europe-EQEC). - : IEEE. - 9781509067367
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Summary form only given. We demonstrate a tool for quantitative measurements in the linear and non-linear extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral region measuring spatially resolved atomic ionization products at the focus of an XUV beam [1, 2]. The ionizing radiation is a comb of the 11th-15th harmonics of a Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser beam produced in a Xenon gas jet. The spatial ion distribution at the focus of the harmonics is recorded using an ion microscope detector [2, 3]. Spatially resolved single- and two-photon ionization products of Argon and Helium are observed. From such ion distributions single- and two-photon generalized cross sections have be extracted by a self-calibrating method. This is the first observation of spatially resolved two-XUV-photon ionization at the focus of the XUV radiation which constitutes an important step towards future single-shot temporal characterization of attosecond (asec) pulses [4].
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4. |
- Tsatrafyllis, N., et al.
(author)
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The ion microscope as a tool for quantitative measurements in the extreme ultraviolet
- 2016
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 6
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We demonstrate a tool for quantitative measurements in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) spectral region measuring spatially resolved atomic ionization products at the focus of an EUV beam. The ionizing radiation is a comb of the 11th-15th harmonics of a Ti:Sapphire femtosecond laser beam produced in a Xenon gas jet. The spatial ion distribution at the focus of the harmonics is recorded using an ion microscope. Spatially resolved single-and two-photon ionization products of Argon and Helium are observed. From such ion distributions single-and two-photon generalized cross sections can be extracted by a self-calibrating method. The observation of spatially resolved two-EUV-photon ionization constitutes an initial step towards future single-shot temporal characterization of attosecond pulses.
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5. |
- Bergues, B., et al.
(author)
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Nonlinear interaction of 100-eV attosecond XUV-pulses with core electrons in Xenon
- 2018
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In: Optics InfoBase Conference Papers. - : Optica Publishing Group. - 9781557528209
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We demonstrate multiphoton ionization of inner-shell electrons in Xenon with 100-eV attosecond pulses. This was achieved with a novel XUV source based on high-harmonic generation in the gas phase driven with multi-TW few-cycle laser pulses.
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7. |
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8. |
- Bergues, B., et al.
(author)
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Tabletop nonlinear optics in the 100-eV spectral region
- 2018
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In: Optica. - : Optical Society of America. - 2334-2536. ; 5:3, s. 237-242
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Nonlinear light-matter interactions in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) are a prerequisite to perform XUV-pump/XUV-probe spectroscopy of core electrons. Such interactions are now routinely investigated at free-electron laser (FEL) facilities. Yet, electron dynamics are often too fast to be captured with the femtosecond resolution of state-of-the-art FELs. Attosecond pulses from laser-driven XUV-sources offer the necessary temporal resolution. However, intense attosecond pulses supporting nonlinear processes have only been available for photon energy below 50 eV, precluding XUV-pump/XUV-probe investigation of typical inner-shell processes. Here, we surpass this limitation by demonstrating two-photon absorption from inner electronic shells of xenon at photon energies around 93 eV and 115 eV. This advance opens the door for attosecond real-time observation of nonlinear electron dynamics deep inside atoms.
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10. |
- Kolliopoulos, G., et al.
(author)
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Revealing quantum path details in high-field physics
- 2014
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In: Physical Review A. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics. - : American Physical Society. - 1050-2947 .- 1094-1622. ; 90:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The fundamental mechanism underlying harmonic emission in the strong-field regime is governed by tunnel ionization of the atom, followed by the motion of the electron wave packet in the continuum, and finally by its recollision with the atomic core. Due to the quantum nature of the process, the properties of the electron wave packet strongly correlate with those of the emitted radiation. Here, by spatially resolving the interference pattern generated by overlapping the harmonic radiation emitted by different interfering electron quantum paths, we have succeeded in unravelling the intricacies associated with the recollision process. This has been achieved by mapping the spatial extreme-ultraviolet (EUV)-intensity distribution onto a spatial ion distribution, produced in the EUV focal area through the linear and nonlinear processes of atoms. By in situ manipulation of the intensity-dependent motion of the electron wave packets, we have been able to directly measure the difference between the harmonic emission times and electron path lengths resulting from different electron trajectories. Due to the high degree of accuracy that the present approach provides, we have been able to demonstrate the quantum nature of the recollision process. This is done by quantitatively correlating the photoemission time and the electron quantum path-length differences, taking into account the energy-momentum transfer from the driving laser field into the system. This information paves the way for electron-photon correlation studies at the attosecond time scale, while it puts the recollision process from the semiclassical prospective into a full quantum-mechanical context.
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