Single-frequency nanosecond-pulsed deep-ultraviolet coherent light source at 252 nm for manipulating silicon atoms resonantly

A frequency-tripled deep-ultraviolet single-frequency nanosecond-pulsed Ti:Sapphire laser injection-locked with a cw single-frequency Ti:Sapphire laser was developed for the laser manipulation of silicon atoms with 252 nm resonant light. The cavity frequency of the slave-laser was controlled dynamically with a piezotransducer mounted on an output mirror to match the optical frequency of the seed laser, so as to minimize the build-up time of the slave-laser. Stable mode matching was achieved and resulted in high stability of the wavelength, making it sufficient for use in silicon atom optics.     

Tunable coherent radiation source covering a spectral range from 185 to 880 nm

We have studied experimentally stimulated Raman scattering and 4-wave-interaction processes occuring in hydrogen gas, which is excited by a Nd:YAG-pumped dye laser. The tuning ranges of the various Stokes and anti-Stokes lines, which are generated with high efficiency, cover the spectrum from 185 to 880 nm without a gap.     

Evaluation of lab-scale EUV microscopy using a table-top laser source

High brightness Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) sources for laboratory operation are needed in nano-fabrication and actinic (“at-wavelength”) inspection of the masks for high volume manufacturing in next generation lithography. Laser-plasma EUV sources have the required compactness and power scalability to achieve the demanding requirements. However, the incoherent emission lacks the brightness for single-shot high contrast imaging. On the other hand, fully coherent sources are considered to be unsuitable for full-field sample illumination and prone to speckles. We evaluate the capabilities of a lab-scale amplified-spontaneous-emission (ASE) EUV laser source to combine brightness and high quality imaging with full-field imaging, along with rapid acquisition and compactness.     

Plasmon lasers: coherent light source at molecular scales

Plasmon lasers are a new class of coherent optical frequency electromagnetic wave amplifiers that deliver intense, coherent and directional surface plasmons well below the diffraction barrier. The strongly confined electric fields in plasmon lasers can enhance significantly light‐matter interactions and bring fundamentally new capabilities to bio‐sensing, data storage, photolithography and optical communications.     

Development of a full spatial coherent X-ray laser at 13.9 nm

We have succeeded in developing a laser-pumped X-ray laser with full spatial coherence at 13.9 nm. The X-ray laser beam with a very small divergence of 0.2 mrad was generated from double target experiments, where a seeding light from the first laser medium was amplified in the second laser medium. The observed divergence was close to the diffraction limit value within a factor of two. The seeding light was amplified in the second medium without refraction influence and the gain coefficient was 7.9 cm^-1. From the measurement of visibility, it was found that the spatial coherent length was longer than the beam diameter. PACS 41.50+h; 42.55.Vc     

Physical design of a wavelength tunable fully coherent VUV source using a self-seeding free electron laser

In order to meet the requirements of the synchrotron radiation users, a fully coherent VUV free electron laser （FEL） has been preliminarily designed. One important goal of this design is that the radiation wavelength can be easily tuned in a broad range （70 170 nm）. In the light of the users＇ demand and our actual conditions, the self-seeding scheme is adopted for this proposal. Firstly, we attempted to fix the electron energy and only changed the undulator gap to vary the radiation wavelength; however, our analysis implies that this is difficult because of the great difference of the power gain length and FEL efficiency at different wavelengths. Therefore, we have considered dividing the wavelength range into three subareas. In each subarea, a constant electron energy is used and the wavelength tuning is realized only by adjusting the undulator gap. The simulation results show that this scheme has an acceptable performance.     

Effective absorption coefficient measurements in PMMA and PTFE by clean ablation process with a coherent VUV source at 125 nm

First measurements of effective absorption coefficient and penetration depth are given here from the ablation of poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA) and poly-tetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) samples at 125 nm (≈10 eV). The coherent VUV source used which provides smooth, efficient and clean etched areas, is briefly described. Experimental curves of etch depth as a function of the number of laser shots and etch rate as a function of energy density are obtained and compared with previous works performed at 157 nm (F₂ laser) and 193 nm (ArF laser). Experimental results are described with a Beer–Lambert absorption law and discussed. Received: 2 March 1999 / Accepted: 8 March 1999 / Published online: 11 August 1999     

Physical design of a wavelength tunable fully coherent VUV source using a self-seeding free electron laser

In order to meet the requirements of the synchrotron radiation users, a fully coherent VUV free electron laser (FEL) has been preliminarily designed. One important goal of this design is that the radiation wavelength can be easily tuned in a broad range (70—170 nm). In the light of the users' demand and our actual conditions, the self-seeding scheme is adopted for this proposal. Firstly, we attempted to fix the electron energy and only changed the undulator gap to vary the radiation wavelength; however, our analysis implies that this is difficult because of the great difference of the power gain length and FEL efficiency at different wavelengths. Therefore, we have considered dividing the wavelength range into three subareas. In each subarea, a constant electron energy is used and the wavelength tuning is realized only by adjusting the undulator gap. The simulation results show that this scheme has an acceptable performance.     

Experimental demonstration of fully coherent quantum feedback

In the conventional picture of quantum feedback, control sensors make measurements on a quantum system, a classical controller processes the results of the measurements, and semiclassical actuators act back on the system to alter its behavior. We describe and provide an experimental demonstration of an alternative method for quantum feedback control, in which the sensors, controller, and actuators of conventional feedback control are replaced with quantum systems that interact coherently with the system to be controlled. The resulting control system represents a fully coherent quantum feedback loop.     

Highly coherent light at 13 nm generated by use of quasi-phase-matched high-harmonic generation

By measuring the fringe visibility in a Young's double pinhole experiment, we demonstrate that quasi-phase-matched high-harmonic generation produces beams with very high spatial coherence at wavelengths around 13 nm. To our knowledge these are the highest spatial coherence values ever measured at such short wavelengths from any source without spatial filtering. This results in a practical, small-scale, coherent, extreme-ultraviolet source that is useful for applications in metrology, imaging, and microscopy.     

Intense plasma discharge source at 13.5 nm for extreme-ultraviolet lithography

We measured an emission of 6 mJ/pulse at 13.5 nm produced by the Li(2+) Lyman-? transition excited by a fast capillary discharge, using a lithium hydride capillary. 75% of the energy emanated from a spot size of 0.6 mm. The emission is narrow band and would thus be useful in extreme-ultraviolet lithography imaging systems that use Mo:Si multilayer mirrors. The output within the bandwidth of Mo:Si mirrors was comparable with that of a laser-produced plasma (LPP), and the wallplug efficiency of 0.1% was nearly an order of magnitude better than that of a LPP.     

Ablation of polymers by focused EUV radiation from a table-top laser-produced plasma source

We have investigated ablation of polymers with radiation of 13.5 nm wavelength, using a table-top laser produced plasma source based on solid gold as target material. A Schwarzschild objective with Mo/Si multilayer coatings was adapted to the source, generating an EUV spot of 5 μm diameter with a maximum energy density of ∼1.3 J/cm². In combination with a Zirconium transmission filter, radiation of high spectral purity (2% bandwidth) can be provided on the irradiated spot. Ablation experiments were performed on PMMA, PTFE and PC. Ablation rates were determined for varying fluences using atomic force microscopy and white light interferometry. The slopes of these curves are discussed with respect to the chemical structure of the polymers. Additionally, the ablation behavior in terms of effective penetration depths, threshold fluences and incubation effects is compared to literature data for higher UV wavelength.     

Coherent quasi-cw 153 nm light source at 33 MHz repetition rate

We present a quasi-cw laser in a vacuum ultraviolet region at megahertz repetition rate. The narrowband pulses generated from an ytterbium-fiber laser system at 33 MHz repetition rate at the central wavelength of 1074 nm are frequency-converted by successive stages of LiB(3)O(5) crystals and KBe(2)BO(3)F(2) crystals. The generated radiation at 153 nm has the shortest wavelength achieved through phase-matched frequency conversion processes in nonlinear optical crystals to our knowledge.     

Broadband, low intensity noise CW source for OCT at 1800 nm

We report on an all-fiber CW supercontinuum source, based on erbium amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source pumping dispersion-shifted highly nonlinear step-index silica fiber. As low as −120 dBc/Hz intensity noise of the near-Gaussian >200 nm bandwidth radiation was recorded. The source can enable micron-scale optical coherence tomography around the low-scatter 1800 nm region.     

Power laws, highly optimized tolerance, and generalized source coding

We introduce a family of robust design problems for complex systems in uncertain environments which are based on tradeoffs between resource allocations and losses. Optimized solutions yield the "robust, yet fragile" features of highly optimized tolerance and exhibit power law tails in the distributions of events for all but the special case of Shannon coding for data compression. In addition to data compression, we construct specific solutions for world wide web traffic and forest fires, and obtain excellent agreement with measured data.     

Efficient sum-frequency generation of continuous-wave single-frequency coherent light at 252 nm with dual wavelength enhancement

Highly efficient frequency conversions were conducted to obtain deep-ultraviolet single-mode coherent light by use of two-stage external cavities. A power of 154 mW at approximately 252 nm was obtained with a conversion efficiency of more than 8% by doubly resonant sum-frequency mixing of 373-nm light from the first-stage conversion and 780-nm light from a single-mode Ti:sapphire laser. The output performance of the deep-ultraviolet light source is sufficient for use in the laser cooling of neutral silicon atoms.     

Development of an efficient coherent optical source at 6.04 μm

Efficiency as high as 26% is obtained for generation of mid-infrared radiation at 6.04 μm by frequency doubling of ammonia laser emission at 12.08 μm in a 15 mm long type-I cut AgGaSe₂ crystal. The NH₃ laser used for this work is optically pumped by a commercial TEA CO₂ laser operating on 9.22 μm and produces pulsed output of ∼210 mJ with a duration of ∼200 ns at 12.08 μm. The generated radiation at 6.04 μm is separated out from the residual radiation at 12.08 μm by exploiting the principle of polarization dependent diffraction of reflection grating.     

An all-solid-state laser source at 671 nm for cold-atom experiments with lithium

We present an all-solid-state narrow-linewidth laser source emitting 670 mW output power at 671 nm delivered in a diffraction-limited beam. The source is based on a frequency-doubled diode-end-pumped ring laser operating on the ⁴ F _3/2→⁴ I _13/2 transition in Nd:YVO₄. By using periodically poled potassium titanyl phosphate (ppKTP) in an external buildup cavity, doubling efficiencies of up to 86% are obtained. Tunability of the source over 100 GHz is accomplished. We demonstrate the suitability of this robust frequency-stabilized light source for laser cooling of lithium atoms. Finally, a simplified design based on intra-cavity doubling is described and first results are presented.     

Molecular gases as a source of coherent,tunable XUV radiation

Coherent and broadly tunable over 3500 cm^-1 extreme ultraviolet (XUV) radiation from 935 to 967 Å has been generated by frequency tripling the second harmonic output of a rhodamine 590 pulsed dye laser in molecular nitrogen and carbon monoxide. The scheme exploits high lying Rydberg and valence states of these gases and leads to the production of about 5 × 10⁹ XUV photons per pulse corresponding to a conversion efficiency of 5 × 10^-6.     

30 mJ, TEM00, high repetition rate, mechanically Q-switched Er:YAG laser operating at 2940 nm

The 2940 nm Er:YAG laser Q-switched mechanically by means of a rotating mirror was developed. It generated the output pulses of up to 30 mJ energy, below 300 ns duration and record repetition rate of 25 Hz. The developed laser was effectively used for the investigation of laser beam interaction with selected organic matter simulants.