An experimental setup for spectroscopy applications of optically generated VUV and XUV radiation

In this paper, we present an experimental setup to study photoionization of atoms and molecules using the high-order harmonic radiation generated by a highly non-linear process. We report on the characteristics of this table-top experimental apparatus showing also the results of the photoionization of krypton gas, by the use of the ninth order harmonic of fs Ti : S laser, observed both in the electron spectrum and in the mass spectrum.     

真空紫外和极紫外相干光源的研究及进展

本文简明扼要地介绍和评论了真空紫外和极紫外波段相干光源研究的现状和发展前景 ,重点包括 :真空紫外和极紫外波段相干光源的产生机制 ,理论描述 ,实验方法 ,以及一些典型的实验结果。最后对该领域的发展前景做了简要的评述。     

Study of High-Order Harmonic at VUV/XUV

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Parametric amplification and harmonic generation in the VUV and XUV

To overcome limitations in the high harmonic conversion efficiency, the possibility of parametric amplification in the VUV and XUV is considered. Potential approaches, including parametric gain transfer from low- to high-order processes, are discussed. Experimentally, a near two photon resonant parametric gain scheme in xenon, excited by femtosecond KrF laser radiation at _p=248 nm, was investigated, leading to signal (_s) and idler (_i) emissions at 149 nm and 760 nm according to 2_p=_s+_i. For the signal field at 149 nm an exponential increase with density and length is obtained. By tuning the excimer laser radiation slightly towards the two-photon resonance, a macroscopic amplification of about 50 at 149 nm was measured. In addition, a sum-mixing signal at 106 nm according to _sum=2_p+_i, showing a similar exponential increase as the 149-nm signal, is observed, which indicates a coupling of both processes with a gain transfer by the common idler field. PACS 42.65.Ky     

Generation of narrowband tunable VUV radiation at the Lyman-α wavelength

Tunable narrowband VUV radiation has been generated at the Lyman-α wavelength $\text{λ =}\text{1216}\text{\&}\text{A}\text{ring}$; by frequency tripling in krypton the frequency-doubled output of a powerful dye laser system which is excited with the second harmonic of a Nd-YAG laser. 5 ns long UV dye laser pulses ($\text{λ =}\text{3646}\text{A}\text{?}$) of 1.8 MW peak power yielded VUV light pulses of 2.2 W (5.4 × 19⁹ photons/pulse). The bandwidth of the dye laser radiation could be narrowed to 8.7 × 10^-3cm^-1 (4.6 × 10^-3 Å). The expected bandwidth of the VUV is less than 5.2 × 10^-2cm^-1 (7 × 10^-4 Å). The tunable VUV radiation is used for the recording of the absorption spectra of the Lyman-α resonance transitions in atomic hydrogen and deuterium with doppler-limited resolution.     

Generation of tunable coherent VUV radiation by anti-Stokes Raman scattering of excimer-pumped dye laser radiation

A straightforward method of generating tunable coherent VUV radiation is described. Radiation down to 1362 Å was produced by Raman shifting the output of a commercially produced, excimer-pumped dye laser system. It is shown that generation of VUV radiation at 1640 Å is more efficient using the 8th anti-Stokes line from a UV dye than by using the 10th anti-Stokes line from a visible dye which had twice the output power.     

Generation of tunable narrow-bandwidth VUV radiation by anti-Stokes SRS in H2

Thirteen tunable anti-Stokes components have been observed for the first time starting with a dye laser. Energies in the long-wavelength VUV region (around 190 nm) reach values of 50 μJ (～10 kW) corresponding to a conversion factor η～0.5×10^?3. The shortest wavelength observed is at 138 nm where up to 40 nJ (～8 W) are measured.     

Generation of XUV attosecond pulses in the process of atomic ionization by few-cycle laser radiation

Ionization of a model two-electron atom in the presence of a strong field of ultrashort laser pulses is investigated using the numerical integration of the nonstationary Schrödinger equation, which describes the dynamics of a quantum system in the presence of an electromagnetic wave. The features of two-electron ionization in the presence of one-and two-cycle pulses are analyzed. The suppression of double ionization in the presence of ultrashort laser pulses related to a finite-time interelectron energy exchange upon the laser action is demonstrated. The features of the generation of high-order harmonics and single XUV attosecond pulses are studied for the atomic ionization by few-cycle laser pulses. The parameters of the laser pulse are optimized for the effective generation of a single XUV attosecond pulse.     

The investigation on VUV/XUV spectroscopy of clusters in a noble gas beam

We have been researching on cluster spectroscopy by using a bolometer to observe thelaser dissociation spectra of the molecule seeded in cluster Ar_n.We know that only a fewlasers at the wavelength shorter than 200 nm.Most of the lasers at the wavelength rangeshorter than 200 nm are pumped by electron-beam.There is only one pumped by discharge.We can predict that more clusters,such as Kr_n,Ne_n lasers will be coming.     

Generation of GW radiation pulses from a VUV free-electron laser operating in the femtosecond regime

Experimental results are presented from vacuum-ultraviolet free-electron laser (FEL) operating in the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) mode. The generation of ultrashort radiation pulses became possible due to specific tailoring of the bunch charge distribution. A complete characterization of the linear and nonlinear modes of the SASE FEL operation was performed. At saturation the FEL produces ultrashort pulses (30-100 fs FWHM) with a peak radiation power in the GW level and with full transverse coherence. The wavelength was tuned in the range of 95-105 nm.     

Generation of ultra-intense ion beams by a short-pulse laser

This paper summarizes briefly the main experimental and numerical results of the IPPLM team studies on the generation of ultra-intense ion beams by a short (≤1?ps) laser pulse. Basic laser-driven ion acceleration schemes capable of generating such ion beams are described including the target normal sheath acceleration (TNSA) scheme, the skin-layer ponderomotive acceleration (SLPA) scheme and the laser-induced cavity pressure acceleration (LICPA) scheme. It is shown that an efficient way for achieving high ion beam intensities and fluencies lies in using a short-wavelength laser driver of circular light polarization. In such a case, SLPA clearly dominates over TNSA, and dense and compact ion bunch is generated with high energetic efficiency. The LICPA scheme operating in the photon (radiation) pressure regime can be even more efficient than SLPA. As it is demonstrated by particle-in-cell simulations, the LICPA accelerator with a picosecond, circularly polarized laser driver of intensity ～ 10²¹_?W/cm² can produce sub-picosecond light ion beams of intensity ～ 10²²?W/cm² and fluence?>?1?GJ/cm² with the energetic efficiency of tens of percent. Laser-driven ion beams of such extreme parameters could open up new research areas in high-energy-density science, inertial fusion or nuclear physics.     

Generation of VUV radiation in Lyman and Werner bands of pulsed space discharge in hydrogen mixtures with helium

A self-consistent numerical model for the self-sustained high-current pulsed discharge is constructed based on the solution of the equations of the population of H₂ electronic and vibrational states. The model accounts for electronic, ion-molecular, and vibrational kinetics, electron attachment to and detachment from the H₂ molecule, Lyman and Werner band emission, and their radiation trapping. The equations of electron-vibrational kinetics are solved simultaneously with the Boltzmann equation for the electron energy distribution function and the external electrical circuit equations.     

Behaviour of scintillators under XUV free electron laser radiation

Free electron lasers (FEL) are new generation accelerator-based short wavelength light sources providing high pulse intensity and femtosecond pulse duration, which enable investigation of interaction of elementary excitations in solids under extreme conditions. Using the FLASH facility of HASYLAB at DESY (Hamburg, Germany), we investigated the response of different materials with scintillating properties based on intrinsic emissions to the 25.6 and 13.8 nm FEL radiation by means of time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy. FLASH delivered single pulses of 25 fs duration having energy per pulse up to 30 μJ resulting in power densities of ～10¹² W/cm² on crystals. As a function of excitation density we observed the shortening of lifetime and non-exponential behaviour of emission decays in CaWO₄, while the emission spectra recorded are comparable to those obtained at conventional excitation sources.     

VUV resonant transition radiation from relativistic electrons

The modified radiator for generation of the resonant transition radiation from relativistic electrons is presented. This radiator consists of a set of small thin foils inclined with respect to the trajectory of an emitting electron. It is shown that the photoabsorption of the emitted photons is almost completely suppressed in the considered scheme. Therefore, the possibility of generating intense beams of quasimonochromatic vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) quanta by the proposed method appears.     

Optical coherence tomography using broad-bandwidth XUV and soft X-ray radiation

We present a novel approach to extend optical coherence tomography (OCT) to the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) and soft X-ray (SXR) spectral range. With a simple setup based on Fourier-domain OCT and adapted for the application of XUV and SXR broadband radiation, cross-sectional images of semiconductors and organic samples becomes feasible with current synchrotron or laser-plasma sources. For this purpose, broadband XUV radiation is focused onto the sample surface, and the reflected spectrum is recorded by an XUV spectrometer. The proposed method has the particular advantage that the axial spatial resolution only depends on the spectral bandwidth. As a consequence, the theoretical resolution limit of XUV coherence tomography (XCT) is in the order of nanometers, e.g., 3 nm for wavelengths in the water window (280–530 eV). We proved the concept of XCT by calculating the reflectivity of one-dimensional silicon and boron carbide samples containing buried layers and found the expected properties with respect to resolution and penetration depth confirmed.     

Tunable XUV radiation generated by nonresonant frequency tripling in argon

Nonresonant frequency tripling of the ultraviolet (UV) radiation of a frequency doubled pulsed dye laser generates in argon coherent radiation in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV). The radiation is tunable in spectral regions of negative dispersion λ_XUV = 97.4–104.75 nm, λ_XUV = 86.8–86.98 nm and λ_XUV = 85.7–86.68 nm located at the high energy side of the transitions 3p-4s′ [$\text{1}\text{2}$,1], 3p-5s′ [$\text{1}\text{2}$,1] and 3p-3d′ [$\text{3}\text{2}$,1], respectively. At UV input pulse powers of 1–2 MW the pr oduced. XUV power was typically 1–8 W (0.2–1.6 × 10¹⁰ photons/pulse).     

Tunable XUV radiation generated by nonresonant frequency tripling in neon

Nonresonant frequency tripling of ultraviolet (UV) radiation (λ_uv = 216–223 nm, generated by sum frequency mixing of the outputs of a frequency doubled pulsed dye laser and of the Nd-YAG pump laser) generates in neon coherent light in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV). The XUV radiation is tunable in spectral regions of negative dispersion λ_xuv = 72.05- 73.58 nm and λ_xuv = 74.3–74.36 nm at the high energy side of the transitions $\text{2p-3s′[}\text{built1}\text{2}\text{, 1]}$ and $\text{2p-3s[}\text{built3}\text{2}\text{, 1]}$. At UV input powers of 0.1-0.3 MW the generated XUV power was typically P_xuv = 0.1-0.4 W (1.5–6 x 10⁸ photons/pulse). Since present UV dye laser systems provide at λ_uv pulse powers of almost 1 MW the XUV output could easily be increased by more than one order of magnitude.