Shaped-pulse optimisation of coherent soft-x-rays

Bibliographic Details
Title: Shaped-pulse optimisation of coherent soft-x-rays
Authors: Bartels, R., Backus, S., Zeek, E., Misoguti, L., Vdovin, G., Christov, I. P., Murnane, M. M., Kapteyn, H. C.
Source: Nature 406(6792), 164-166 (2000)
Publication Year: 2024
Collection: Physics (Other)
Subject Terms: Physics - Optics, Physics - Atomic Physics
More Details: High-harmonic generation is one of the most extreme nonlinear-optical processes observed to date. By focusing an intense laser pulse into a gas, the light-atom interaction that occurs during the process of ionising the atoms results in the generation of harmonics of the driving laser frequency, that extend up to order ~300 (corresponding to photon energies from 4 to >500eV). Because this technique is simple to implement and generates coherent, laser-like, soft-x-ray beams, it is currently being developed for applications in science and technology including probing of dynamics in chemical and materials systems and for imaging. In this work we demonstrate that by carefully controlling the shape of intense light pulses of 6-8 optical cycles, we can control the interaction of light with an atom as it is being ionised, in a way that improves the efficiency of x-ray generation by an order of magnitude. Furthermore, we demonstrate that it is possible to control the spectral characteristics of the emitted radiation and to channel the interaction between different-order nonlinear processes. The result is an increased utility of harmonic generation as a light source, as well as the first demonstration of optical pulse-shaping techniques to control high-order nonlinear processes.
Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures
Document Type: Working Paper
DOI: 10.1038/35018029
Access URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2404.01324
Accession Number: edsarx.2404.01324
Database: arXiv
More Details
DOI:10.1038/35018029