Tunable light sources based on high harmonics generation for time-resolved VUV spectroscopy

The project of set-up for time resolved femtosecond VUV spectroscopy, which is based on a high harmonic generation source and a VUV monochromator is presented. We discuss the generation conditions of quasi-continuous VUV spectrum via HHG in Ar using the intense chirped IR fundamental pulse and the relatively weak second harmonic of IR fundamental. The desired narrow VUV spectral range is selected by time compensated double monochromator with concave spherical diffraction gratings. PACS 42.65.Ky; 42.79.Dj; 78.47.+p; 39.30.+w     

Total internal reflection diffraction grating in conical mounting

The main conditions and parameters for obtaining surface relief total internal reflection diffraction gratings in conical mounting are presented. Calculated and experimental investigations reveal that there are ranges of grating periods, incidence angles, diffraction angles and gratings depths for which such gratings could be obtained, both for TE and TM polarizations. With optimized grating parameters the diffraction efficiency of the total internal reflection diffraction gratings can be greater than 90%.     

Higher order harmonics suppression in extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray

The extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray sources are widely used in various domains. Suppressing higher order harmonics and improving spectral purity are significant. This paper describes a novel method of higher order harmonics suppression with single order diffraction gratings in extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray. The principle of harmonic suppression with single order diffraction grating is described, and an extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray non-harmonics grating monochromator is designed based on the single order diffraction grating. The performance is simulated by an optical design software. The emergent beams of a monochromator with different gratings are measured by a transmission grating spectrometer. The results show that the single order diffraction grating can suppress higher order harmonics effectively, and it is expected to be widely used in synchrotron radiation, diagnostics of laser induced plasma, and astrophysics.     

多层介质膜脉宽压缩光栅的严格矢量分析

用于展宽和压缩激光脉冲的多层膜脉宽压缩光栅是由多层介质高反膜和位于其顶层的浮雕光栅构成。以设计的高反射多层膜为基础,利用傅里叶模式理论分析了其衍射场分布,给出了TE波自准直角入射的使用条件下,多层介质膜脉宽压缩光栅衍射效率的表达式。以-1级衍射效率为评价函数,分别讨论了HfO2和SiO2为顶层材料时,多层膜脉宽压缩光栅-1级衍射效率高于0.95的光栅结构参量范围。结果表明,在该条件下,选择HfO2为顶层材料时,光栅结构参量有较大的取值范围。给出了优化的光栅结构参量,并分析了光栅制作误差及其使用条件的宽容度,对光栅制作工艺和使用具有一定的指导意义。     

多层介质膜脉冲压缩光栅近场光学特性分析

利用傅里叶模式理论分析了TE波自准直角入射的使用条件下，多层介质膜光栅的光栅区和多层膜区电场分布的特点.分别讨论了HfO₂和SiO₂为顶层光栅材料时，光栅结构参数对光栅脊峰值电场的影响，结果表明，对于不同膜厚的顶层材料，存在一个最佳膜厚度，使光栅脊峰值电场最小，并且当膜厚增大时，设计大高宽比的光栅可以降低该电场峰值.最后，在大角度条件下使用多层膜光栅也可以降低光栅脊处的峰值电场. 关键词： 衍射光学 多层介质膜光栅 模式理论 损伤阈值     

Highly resolved EUV beam-foil spectra of silicon

Spectra of foil-excited ions at tandem energies in the EUV region show many unclassified lines. In order to provide a basis for term analysis, high resolution spectra of Si are taken using a ruled 600 l/mm grating in 3^rd diffraction order and two holographic gratings of 1,200 l/mm resp. 3,600 l/mm in first diffraction order. With the latter grating the resolution power of a 2.2 m grazing-incidence monochromator is sufficient to measure fine-structure splittings of inter-shell transitions of O VI–O VIII and Si X–Si XII in the wavelength rangeλ < 20 nm. The performance of the gratings is demonstrated.     

Design of high-efficiency diffraction gratings based on total internal reflection for pulse compressor

We present designs of high-efficiency compression grating based on total internal reflection (TIR) for picosecond pulse laser at 1053 nm. The setup is devised by directly etching gratings into the bottom side of a prism so that light can successfully enter (or exit) the compression grating. Dependence of the −1 order diffraction efficiencies on the constructive parameters is analyzed for TE- and TM-polarized incident light at Littrow angle by using Fourier modal method in order to obtain optimal grating structure. The electric field enhancement within the high-efficiency TIR gratings is regarded as another criterion to optimize the structure of the TIR gratings. With the criterion of high diffraction efficiency, low electric field enhancement and sufficient manufacturing latitude, TIR compression gratings with optimized constructive parameters are obtained for TE- and TM-polarized incident light, respectively. The grating for TE-polarized light exhibits diffraction efficiencies higher than 0.95 within 23 nm bandwidth and relatively low square of electric field enhancement ratio of 5.7. Regardless of the internal electric field enhancement, the grating for TM-polarized light provides diffraction efficiencies higher than 0.95 within 42 nm bandwidth. With compact structure, such TIR compression gratings made solely of fused silica should be of great interest for application to chirped pulse amplification (CPA) systems.     

A tunable XUV monochromatic light source based on the time preserving grating selection of high-order harmonic generation

We accomplish a laboratory facility for producing a femtosecond XUV coherent monochromatic radiation with a broad tunable spectral range of 20 eV-75 eV. It is based on spectral selected single-order harmonics from intense laser driven high harmonic generation in gas phase. The time preserving for the selected harmonic radiation is achieved by a Czerny-Turner type monochromator designed with a conical diffraction grating mount for minimizing the time broadening caused by grating diffraction and keeping a relatively high diffraction efficiency. Our measurement shows that the photon flux of the 23-order harmonic(H23) centered at 35.7 eV is 1×10~9 photons/s approximately with a resolving power E/?E ≈ 36.This source provides an ultrashort tunable monochromatic XUV beam for ultrafast studies of electronic and structural dynamics in a large variety of matters.     

Diffraction study of volume holographic gratings in dispersive photorefractive material for femtosecond pulse readout

Based on the modified Kogelnik diffraction efficiency equation, the diffraction intensity spectrum and the total diffraction efficiency of volume gratings in photorefractive media are studied systematically. Taking photorefractive InP:Fe crystal as an example, the effect of the grating parameters and the pulse width on the diffraction properties are presented, in particular under the influence of crystal material dispersion. Under the combined effects, the diffraction pulse profiles and the total diffraction efficiency are shown. Also, the diffraction properties with and without crystal material dispersion are compared. These studies indicate that the properties of the diffraction beams can be controlled by the holographic grating parameters; this property can be used for pulse shaping applications.     

真空紫外波段光栅二级衍射效率测量装置

利用光栅二级衍射会影响反射样品光谱反射率结果的原理,通过计算不同光谱反射率获得了光栅二级衍射效率。介绍了测量二级衍射效率的实验装置,该装置采用双光路单色仪结构,使用已知光谱辐亮度氘灯作为光源,探测器为光电倍增管,通过水杨酸钠膜将紫外光转为可见光。以波长161nm为例,测量了5块反射镜样片,计算得到光栅二级衍射效率为0.00611×(1±0.0777)。分析表明,该方法采用的测试装置简单,系统不确定度为14.08%,可以实现真空紫外波段光栅二级光谱衍射效率的连续测量。     

Diffraction properties of ultrashort pulsed beams with arbitrary temporal profiles by a reflection volume holographic grating

The diffraction properties of reflection volume holographic gratings are studied when the gratings are illuminated by an ultrashort beam with arbitrary temporal profiles. The modified Kogelnik's theory of coupled waves is used. Simple analytical expressions for spectral and temporal distribution of the transmitted and diffracted are obtained. The dependences of the diffraction bandwidth, the Bragg selectivity bandwidth and the total diffraction efficiency of the reflection volume grating on the temporal profiles of the input ultrashort pulse are investigated. Study shows that the bandwidth of the reflection volume holographic gratings varies with the grating parameters more slowly than the transmitting volume holographic gratings. For three different temporal profiles, numerical results about diffraction properties of the reflection volume holographic gratings are given and compared with the transmitting volume holographic gratings.     

Polarizing beam splitter of two-layer dielectric rectangular transmission gratings in Littrow mounting

We theoretically investigated the design of polarizing beam splitters (PBS) of two-layer dielectric rectangular transmission gratings in Littrow mounting. The PBS grating is aimed to separate TE and TM polarized waves into two different transmitted orders, i.e. the 0th and −1st orders. The polarization-dependent diffraction process is analyzed by using a simplified modal method. The mode reflection and transmission at the interface of the two layers are illustrated. Design equations are given based on the average mode indices of the even and odd modes inside the grating region, which are verified by using rigorous coupled wave analysis. Moreover, with simulated annealing algorithm, two kinds of two-layer PBS gratings are optimized for operation over the C-band (1520-1570 nm). Compared with the single-layer transmission PBS gratings, such two-layer scheme exhibits a great flexibility of design. The PBSs of two-layer dielectric transmission gratings should be useful for practical applications.     

高衍射效率亚波长结构Dammann光栅的设计

传统的Dammann光栅是基于标量衍射理论设计的二值相位等光强分束器件，其衍射效率的典型值为80%左右.基于严格耦合波分析理论和遗传算法，提出了一种设计亚波长结构Dammann光栅的新方法，且该新型二值相位光栅具有较高的衍射效率.同时利用自编的仿真程序包设计了多个光栅，并分析了制作误差对其衍射效率和光强均匀性的影响.仿真结果表明，用该方法所设计的Dammann光栅的衍射效率超过92%.     

衍射光栅的第二类角色散及其特性分析

在由矢量衍射理论得到的锥面衍射情形下的广义光栅方程基础上，给出了对应于衍射极角的衍射光栅第一类角色散公式和对应于衍射方位角的衍射光栅第二类角色散公式，并通过理论和数值分析导出了第二类角色散发生突变的条件及相应的数学表达式. 关键词： 衍射光栅 锥面衍射 第一类角色散 第二类角色散     

自支撑透射光栅的设计、制作和测试

采用标量衍射理论和严格耦合波理论分别计算和讨论了金自支撑透射光栅的衍射效率随波长和光栅周期变化的情况并设计了光栅的结构参数.制作了周期为300 nm、线宽/周期比为055、厚度为200 nm、总面积为1 mm×1 mm、有效面积比为65%的金自支撑透射光栅.在国家同步辐射实验室检测了该光栅在55—38 nm波长范围内的绝对衍射效率.检测结果表明所制作的光栅在8 nm附近具有接近10%的最大衍射效率,并且该光栅对于波长15—35 nm范围内的极紫外波段具有基本稳定的衍射效率. 关键词： 自支撑透射光栅 电子束光刻 电镀     

拼接光栅缝隙对激光脉冲光强分布的影响

以拼接光栅作为色散元件的激光脉冲压缩器中,要求脉冲压缩光栅表面光强分布均匀、能量输出效率高。利用菲涅耳-基尔霍夫衍射原理对脉冲压缩光栅表面光强和远场光强分布进行了研究。计算了拼接光栅缝隙宽度对光栅表面光强变化量和远场光强极大值的影响。在利特罗角附近入射时发现激光脉冲光强分布与拼接光栅缝隙宽度相关,得出了光栅拼接缝隙宽度应控制在0.5 mm以内。适当提高缝隙衍射效率能够改善光强分布均匀性和提高光能量输出,提出了对拼接缝隙采用两次重复曝光以提高其衍射效率的方法。     

光折变光栅在超短脉冲光照射下衍射的研究

利用Kogelnik单色光在体光栅中衍射效率公式推导出超短脉冲光读出稳态光折变体光栅时的衍射光频谱表达式,并在此基础上导出了脉冲光读出时的总衍射光强及总光强衍射效率.研究发现衍射光的频谱分布、总光强及衍射效率与光栅周期Λ、光栅厚度d和读出光脉冲宽度Δτ有密切的关系.通过调整这些参量,光折变光栅可以对入射的超短脉冲光实现不同程度的滤波作用.该结论可用于超短脉冲的整形研究.     

光栅周期包含的Bragg层数对Bragg型凹面衍射光栅的影响

单个衍射光栅周期所包含的Bragg周期层数是连续Bragg齿型凹面衍射光栅的主要参数之一,该参数可改变光栅齿结构,对凹面衍射光栅的分辨力.自由光谱范围及衍射效率有重要影响.本文通过理论分析与仿真模拟,对比了4种不同层数的Bragg型凹面衍射光栅的特性参数.研究结果表明:在衍射光栅尺寸不变的情况下,改变单个光栅周期包含的Bragg周期层数不会显著提高器件主衍射级次的分辨力;单个光栅周期包含的Bragg周期层数与光栅可衍射的级次数成正相关.单周期层数的Bragg凹面衍射光栅的主衍射级次效率最高,其可衍射的级次数最少,且其他衍射级次分散的能量最少;增加单个光栅周期所包含的Bragg周期层数会降低主衍射级次的自由光谱范围.该研究对于设计低插损、高分辨率、宽工作波段的波分复用器或光栅光谱仪具有重要的指导意义.     

全息离子束刻蚀衍射光栅

全息离子束刻蚀衍射光栅集中了机械刻划光栅的高效率和全息光栅的无鬼线、低杂散光、高信噪比的优点．全息离子束刻蚀已作为常规工艺手段应用于真空紫外及软x射线衍射光栅的制作．文章对全息离子束刻蚀衍射光栅的制作方法、主要类型、研究现状和应用进行了综述．     

Near-field optical properties of wide bandwidth metal multi-layer dielectric gratings for pulse compressor

Metal multi-layer dielectric gratings (MMDG) for pulse compressors in high-energy laser systems should provide broad bandwidth as well as high laser-induced damage thresholds. The non-uniform optical near-field distribution of MMDG is an important factor that limits damage resistant capabilities. MMDG for pulse compressors operating at 800 nm with a corrugated SiO₂ layer are designed by using a genetic algorithm and the Fourier mode method. The diffraction efficiency, bandwidth, and near-field distribution of the MMDG are theoretically investigated. For the single dielectric match layer grating, the bandwidth is 140 nm, if the thickness and refractive index of the match layer are changed, the maximum electric field in the grating ridge, match layer, and metal layer of the grating increases with the decrease in grating diffraction efficiency. For the multi-dielectric match layer grating, the bandwidth and the maximum electric field in the metal layer decrease with the increase in high- and low-index material pairs, and the maximum electric field in the grating ridge and match layer initially decreases and then increases. Over a wide wavelength range, the maximum electric field in the grating ridge, match layer, and metal layer is minimal near the central wavelength. Moreover, MMDG should be used at larger incident angles while keeping enough bandwidth to reduce the electric field in the grating.