High-repetition-rate grazing-incidence pumped x-ray laser operating at 18.9 nm

Nonlinear pulse compression of a 200 mJ and 1 kW ultrafast thin-disk amplifier

We present a high-energy laser source consisting of an ultrafast thin-disk amplifier followed by a nonlinear compression stage. At a repetition rate of 5 kHz, the drive laser provides a pulse energy of up to 200 mJ with a pulse duration below 500 fs. Nonlinear broadening is implemented inside a Herriott-type multipass cell purged with noble gas, allowing us to operate under different seeding conditions. Firstly, the nonlinear broadening of 64 mJ pulses is demonstrated in an argon-filled cell, showing a compressibility down to 32 fs. Finally, we employ helium as a nonlinear medium to increase the energy up to 200 mJ while maintaining compressibility below 50 fs. Such high-energy pulses with sub-50 fs duration hold great promise as drivers of secondary sources.

Near-unity uniformity and efficiency broadband meta-beam-splitter/combiner

Subwavelength planar structured interfaces, also known as metasurfaces, are ultra-thin optical elements modulating the amplitude, phase, and polarization of incident light using nanostructures called meta-atoms. The optical properties of such metasurfaces can be controlled across wavelengths by selecting geometries and materials of the meta-atoms. Given recent technological developments in optical device miniaturization, components for beam splitting and beam combining are sought for use within these devices as two quintessential components of every optical setup. However, realizing such devices using metasurfaces typically leads to poor uniformity of diffraction orders and narrow-band operation. Using a modified version of particle swarm optimization, we propose and numerically demonstrate a broadband, reciprocal metasurface beam combiner/splitter with uniformity > 97% and diffraction efficiency > 90% in the continuous band from λ=1525 nm to λ=1575 nm. The proposed approach significantly extends the current state of the art of metasurfaces design in terms of uniformity, bandwidth, and efficiency, and opens the door for devices requiring high power or near-unit uniformity.

Towards subpicosecond pulses from solid target plasma based seeded soft X-ray laser

We investigate the coherence of plasma-based soft X-ray laser (XRL) for different conditions that can alter the electron density in the gain region. We first measure the source temporal coherence in amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) mode. We develop a data analysis procedure to extract both its spectral width and pulse duration. These findings are in agreement with the spectral line shape simulations and seeded operation experimental results. Utilizing the deduced spectral width and pulse duration in a one-dimensional Bloch-Maxwell code, we reproduce the experimental temporal coherence properties of the seeded-XRL. Finally, we demonstrate efficient lasing in ASE and seeded mode at an electron density two times higher than the routine conditions. In this regime, using Bloch-Maxwell modeling, we predict the pulse duration of the seeded XRL to be ∼500fs.

Pulse duration of a partially coherent soft X-ray laser estimated from far-field speckle statistics

A novel method for estimating the pulse duration of partially coherent soft X-ray pulses from a far-field intensity pattern is presented. The method is based on intensity statistics at a single point in space and time, which allows the number of coherent longitudinal modes to be measured. Utilizing the knowledge of the coherence time of the radiation, either from the measurement of the spectral bandwidth or from numerical simulations, the duration of each individual pulse can be evaluated. This method was used to estimate the pulse duration of the laser-driven nickel-like molybdenum soft X-ray laser that is based on amplified spontaneous emission from a narrow plasma column and emits at a wavelength of 18.9 nm. By varying the length of the gain medium, a clear dependence of the number of modes caused mainly by the spectral line narrowing was observed. Supported by simulations of radiative transfer and pulse propagation, the pulse duration at the end of a 3 mm long gain medium was estimated to be 3.5 ps. The experimental data from far-field intensity patterns were also analyzed by applying the generalized van Cittert-Zernike theorem, providing a lower bound of effective source size.

Transverse Coherence Limited Coherent Diffraction Imaging using a Molybdenum Soft X-ray Laser Pumped at Moderate Pump Energies

Coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) in the extreme ultraviolet has become an important tool for nanoscale investigations. Laser-driven high harmonic generation (HHG) sources allow for lab scale applications such as cancer cell classification and phase-resolved surface studies. HHG sources exhibit excellent coherence but limited photon flux due poor conversion efficiency. In contrast, table-top soft X-ray lasers (SXRL) feature excellent temporal coherence and extraordinary high flux at limited transverse coherence. Here, the performance of a SXRL pumped at moderate pump energies is evaluated for CDI and compared to a HHG source. For CDI, a lower bound for the required mutual coherence factor of |μ₁₂| ≥ 0.75 is found by comparing a reconstruction with fixed support to a conventional characterization using double slits. A comparison of the captured diffraction signals suggests that SXRLs have the potential for imaging micron scale objects with sub-20 nm resolution in orders of magnitude shorter integration time compared to a conventional HHG source. Here, the low transverse coherence diameter limits the resolution to approximately 180 nm. The extraordinary high photon flux per laser shot, scalability towards higher repetition rate and capability of seeding with a high harmonic source opens a route for higher performance nanoscale imaging systems based on SXRLs.

1 J, 0.5 kHz repetition rate picosecond laser

We report the demonstration of a diode-pumped chirped pulse amplification Yb:YAG laser that produces λ=1.03  μm pulses of up to 1.5 J energy compressible to sub-5 ps duration at a repetition rate of 500 Hz (750 W average power). Amplification to high energy takes place in cryogenically cooled Yb:YAG active mirrors designed for kilowatt average power laser operation. This compact laser system will enable new advances in high-average-power ultrashort-pulse lasers and high-repetition-rate tabletop soft x-ray lasers. As a first application, the laser was used to pump a 400 Hz λ=18.9  nm laser.

Gain dynamics in quickly ionized plasma for seeded operated soft x-ray lasers

Harmonic seeded operation of a neon-like titanium plasma-based soft x-ray laser is described. The plasma amplifier is pumped with a variation of the grazing incidence technique involving a fast and localized ionization step. We discuss its effect on gain dynamics by measuring the amplifying factor as a function of the delay between pump pulse and harmonic seed. Two different regimes are pointed out, following the pumping scheme used. For one of them, a delay in the gain generation compared with the pumping laser pulse is observed.

Q-switched laser-assisted grazing incidence pumping (QAGRIP) for efficient soft x-ray laser generation

We have investigated a new scheme for laser plasma transient collisional soft x-ray lasers based on the use of an additional laser to produce the preplasma. Soft x-ray emission measurements made for different solid targets are presented and discussed. A significant enhancement of the SXRL emission as compared to double-pulse single-beam grazing incidence (DGRIP) using the same pump laser is reported for 13.9- and 32.6-nm SXRL wavelengths.

Analytic study of traveling-wave velocity variation in line-focusing schemes for plasma x-ray lasers

Efficient amplification of coherent short-wavelength pulses along a plasma gain column requires traveling-wave excitation with the sweep velocity matched to the signal group velocity. Through simulations incorporating the gain dynamics of the system, we show that the group velocity is not constant but increases monotonically along the line focus due to strong saturation. We demonstrate a line-focusing configuration that results in traveling wave excitation with the sweep velocity well matched to the spatially varying group velocity. Moreover, we show through numerical simulations that the improved velocity matching yields a significant improvement in signal amplification.

Thin film beam splitter multiple short pulse generation for enhanced Ni-like Ag x-ray laser emission

An alternative, novel multiple pulse generation scheme was implemented directly after the optical compressor output of an x-ray pump laser. The new method uses a polarization sensitive thin film beam splitter and a half-wavelength wave plate for tuning the energy ratio in the multiple short pulses. Based on this method, an extensive study was made of the running parameters for a grazing incidence pumped silver x-ray laser (XRL) pumped with a long pulse of 145 mJ in 6 ns at 532 nm and up to 1.45 J in few picoseconds at 810 nm. Fivefold enhancement in the emission of the silver XRL was demonstrated using the new pump method.

Single-shot soft x-ray laser linewidth measurement using a grating interferometer

The linewidth of a 14.7 nm wavelength Ni-like Pd soft x-ray laser was measured in a single shot using a soft x-ray diffraction grating interferometer. The instrument uses the time delay introduced by the gratings across the beam to measure the temporal coherence. The spectral linewidth of the 4d1S0-4p1P1 Ni-like Pd lasing line was measured to be Δλ/λ=3×10(-5) from the Fourier transform of the fringe visibility. This single shot linewidth measurement technique provides a rapid and accurate way to determine the temporal coherence of soft x-ray lasers that can contribute to the development of femtosecond plasma-based soft x-ray lasers.

Hour-long continuous operation of a tabletop soft x-ray laser at 50-100 Hz repetition rate

We report the uninterrupted operation of an 18.9 nm wavelength tabletop soft x-ray laser at 100 Hz repetition rate for extended periods of time. An average power of about 0.1 mW was obtained by irradiating a Mo target with pulses from a compact diode-pumped chirped pulse amplification Yb:YAG laser. Series of up to 1.8 x 10(5) consecutive laser pulses of ~1 µJ energy were generated by displacing the surface of a high shot-capacity rotating molybdenum target by ~2 µm between laser shots. As a proof-of-principle demonstration of the use of this compact ultrashort wavelength laser in applications requiring a high average power coherent beam, we lithographically printed an array of nanometer-scale features using coherent Talbot self-imaging.

Observation and theory of X-ray mirages

The advent of X-ray lasers allowed the realization of compact coherent soft X-ray sources, thus opening the way to a wide range of applications. Here we report the observation of unexpected concentric rings in the far-field beam profile at the output of a two-stage plasma-based X-ray laser, which can be considered as the first manifestation of a mirage phenomenon in X-rays. We have developed a method of solving the Maxwell–Bloch equations for this problem, and find that the experimentally observed phenomenon is due to the emergence of X-ray mirages in the plasma amplifier, appearing as phase-matched coherent virtual point sources. The obtained results bring a new insight into the physical nature of amplification of X-ray radiation in laser-induced plasma amplifiers and open additional opportunities for X-ray plasma diagnostics and extreme ultraviolet lithography.

X-ray lasers are of interest to study various properties of materials down to the atomic scale. The discovery by Magnitskiy et al. of a mirage interference effect in X-ray plasma lasers could lead to new possibilities to control the output of such lasers.

Pump energy reduction for a high gain Ag X-ray laser using one long and two short pump pulses

A pump scheme with one long and two short pump pulses is proposed, in a grazing incidence pumping x-ray laser (XRL) configuration. A 360 ps long pulse, prepares a plasma in a low charge state. Then, an initial short pulse ionizes the plasma to an optimal charge state, while the second short pulse induces strong collisional excitation in the gain region. With only 200 mJ of pump energy on target, a compact Ag XRL at 13.9 nm with a gain coefficient of 55  cm(-1) was achieved.

Demonstration of a 100 Hz repetition rate gain-saturated diode-pumped table-top soft x-ray laser

We demonstrate the operation of a gain-saturated table-top soft x-ray laser at 100 Hz repetition rate. The laser generates an average power of 0.15 mW at λ=18.9  nm, the highest laser power reported to date from a sub-20-nm wavelength compact source. Picosecond laser pulses of 1.5 μJ energy were produced at λ=18.9  nm by amplification in a Mo plasma created by tailoring the temporal intensity profile of single pump pulses with 1 J energy produced by a diode-pumped chirped pulse amplification Yb:YAG laser. Lasing was also obtained in the 13.9 nm line of Ni-like Ag. These results increase by an order of magnitude the repetition rate of plasma-based soft x-ray lasers opening the path to milliwatt average power table-top lasers at sub-20 nm wavelengths.

Single-pulse coherent diffraction imaging using soft x-ray laser

We report a coherent diffraction imaging (CDI) using a single 8 ps soft x-ray laser pulse at a wavelength of 13.9 nm. The soft x-ray pulse was generated by a laboratory-scale intense pumping laser providing coherent x-ray pulses up to the level of 10(11) photons/pulse. A spatial resolution below 194 nm was achieved with a single pulse, and it was shown that a resolution below 55 nm is feasible with improved detector capability. The single-pulse CDI might provide a way to investigate dynamics of nanoscale molecules or particles.

Low energy prepulse for 10 Hz operation of a soft-x-ray laser

The influence on Nickel-like Molybdenum soft-x-ray laser performance and stability of a low energy laser prepulse arriving prior to the main laser pumping pulses is experimentally investigated. A promising regime for 10 Hz operation has been observed. A four times increase in soft-x-ray laser operation time with a same target surface is demonstrated. This soft-x-ray laser operation mode corresponds to an optimum delay between the prepulse and the main pulses and to a prepulse energy greater than 20 mJ. We also show that this regime is not associated with a weaker degradation of the target or any reduced ablation rate. Therefore the role of preplasma density gradient in this effect is discussed.

Temporal coherence and spectral linewidth of an injection-seeded transient collisional soft x-ray laser

The temporal coherence of an injection-seeded transient 18.9 nm molybdenum soft x-ray laser was measured using a wavefront division interferometer and compared to model simulations. The seeded laser is found to have a coherence time similar to that of the unseeded amplifier, ~1 ps, but a significantly larger degree of temporal coherence. The measured coherence time for the unseeded amplifier is only a small fraction of the pulsewidth, while in the case of the seeded laser it approaches full temporal coherence. The measurements confirm that the bandwidth of the solid target amplifiers is significantly wider than that of soft x-ray lasers that use gaseous targets, an advantage for the development of sub-picosecond soft x-ray lasers.

Role of the precursor in a triple-pulse pumping scheme of a nickel-like silver soft-x-ray laser in the grazing-incidence-pumping geometry

Soft x-ray lasers pumped in the grazing incidence geometry show strongly reduced energetic needs but hardly changed conversion efficiency between the pump energy and the output short-wavelength radiation. Numerical analysis presented in the paper concerns with performance of a Ni-like Ag soft-x-ray laser pumped by a triple-pulse structure in the grazing incidence geometry as a function of the puming conditions. It was found that a weak precursor preceding the main preforming and heating pulses by a few nanoseconds is crucial for the energy deposition. Its presence enables in different arrangements a reasonable reduction in the pump energy and relaxation of the steep density gradients as well as a control over partition of the deposited energy. As a consequence, it was concluded that a well energetically balanced three- or multipulse composition seems to be a reasonable way to achieve performance improvement.

High-energy 13.9 nm table-top soft-x-ray laser at 2.5 Hz repetition rate excited by a slab-pumped Ti:sapphire laser

We have demonstrated repetitive operation of a table-top lambda=13.9 nm Ni-like Ag soft-x-ray laser that generates laser pulses with 10 microJ energy. The soft-x-ray laser is enabled by a Ti:sapphire laser pumped by high-repetition-rate frequency-doubled high-energy Nd:glass slab amplifiers. Soft-x-ray laser operation at 2.5 Hz repetition rate resulted in 20 microwatt average power.

Optimization of a tabletop high-repetition-rate soft x-ray laser pumped in double-pulse single-beam grazing incidence

This Letter reports on the optimization of a tabletop nickel-like molybdenum transient collisionally excited soft x-ray laser (SXRL) at 18.9 nm performed by a double-pulse single-beam grazing incidence pumping (DGRIP). This scheme allows for the first time, to our knowledge, the full control of the pump laser parameters including the pre-pulse duration optimally generating the SXRL amplifier under a grazing incidence. The single-beam geometry of the collinear double-pulse propagation guarantees the ideal overlap of the pre-pulse and main pulse from shot to shot resulting in a more efficient and highly stable SXRL output. SXRL energies up to 2.2 microJ are obtained with a total pump energy less than 1 J for several hours at a 10 Hz repetition rate without realignment under once optimized double pumping pulse parameters including energy ratio, time delay, pre-pulse and main pulse durations, and line focus width.

Optimization of a tabletop high-repetition-rate soft x-ray laser pumped in double-pulse single-beam grazing incidence

This Letter reports on the optimization of a tabletop nickel-like molybdenum transient collisionally excited soft x-ray laser (SXRL) at 18.9 nm performed by a double-pulse single-beam grazing incidence pumping (DGRIP). This scheme allows for the first time, to our knowledge, the full control of the pump laser parameters including the pre-pulse duration optimally generating the SXRL amplifier under a grazing incidence. The single-beam geometry of the collinear double-pulse propagation guarantees the ideal overlap of the pre-pulse and main pulse from shot to shot resulting in a more efficient and highly stable SXRL output. SXRL energies up to 2.2 microJ are obtained with a total pump energy less than 1 J for several hours at a 10 Hz repetition rate without realignment under once optimized double pumping pulse parameters including energy ratio, time delay, pre-pulse and main pulse durations, and line focus width.

Gain-saturated 10.9 nm tabletop laser operating at 1 Hz repetition rate

We report the demonstration of a gain-saturated 10.9 nm tabletop soft x-ray laser operating at 1 Hz repetition rate. Lasing occurs by collisional electron impact excitation in the 4dS01-->4pP11 transition of nickel-like Te in a line-focus plasma heated by a chirped-pulse-amplification Ti:sapphire laser. With an average power of 1muW and pulse energy up to approximately 2microJ, this laser extends the ability to conduct tabletop laser experiments to a shorter wavelength.

Demonstration of an all-diode-pumped soft x-ray laser

We have demonstrated an 18.9 nm Ni-like molybdenum soft x-ray laser, pumped by a compact all-diode-pumped Yb:YAG laser. The solid-state pump laser produces 8.5 ps pulses with up to 1 J energy at 10 Hz repetition rate. This diode-pumped laser has the potential to greatly increase the repetition rate and the average power of soft x-ray lasers on a significantly smaller footprint.

Demonstration of a highly coherent 13.9 nm x-ray laser from a silver tape target

A highly coherent 13.9 nm x-ray laser (XRL) is generated under an oscillator-amplifier configuration using a new tape target system and a driver laser system with a 0.1 Hz repetition rate. The output energy is comparable to the XRL generated with a silver-deposited slab target, and the pointing stability using the new tape target system is better than conventional slab targets.

High-repetition-rate chirped-pulse-amplification thin-disk laser system with joule-level pulse energy

We are reporting on the development of a diode-pumped chirped-pulse-amplification (CPA) laser system based on Yb:YAG thin-disk technology with a repetition rate of 100 Hz and output pulse energy in the joule range. The focus lies with the first results of the preamplifier--a regenerative amplifier (RA) and a multipass amplifier (MP). The system consists of a front end including the CPA stretcher followed by an amplifier chain based on Yb:YAG thin-disk amplifiers and the CPA compressor. It is developed in the frame of our x-ray laser (XRL) program and fulfills all requirements for pumping a plasma-based XRL in grazing incidence pumping geometry. Of course it can also be used for other interesting applications. With the RA pulse energies of more than 165 mJ can be realized. At a repetition rate of 100 Hz a stability of 0.8% (1sigma) over a period of more than 45 min has been measured. The optical-to-optical efficiency is 14%. The following MP amplifier can increase the pulse energy to more than 300 mJ. A nearly bandwidth-limited recompression to less than 2 ps could be demonstrated.

Optimal main pulse angle for different preplasma conditions in transient collisionally pumped x-ray lasers

The effects of the incidence angle of the main pump (MP) pulse in non-normal pumping geometry and the influence of the MP duration are investigated experimentally and theoretically for a transient collisionally pumped (TCE) x-ray laser in Ni-like Zr at 45 degrees and 72 degrees incidence angle on the target. The way they transfer to the x-ray laser output depends on the preplasma conditions, most notably on the average ionization distribution at the arrival of the MP. Moreover, contrary to previous grazing incidence pumping results, it is found that the shortest attainable MP maximizes the output. Modeling of the experimental results is performed with EHYBRID code. The results are important for scaling high repetition-rate non-normal incidence pumped lasers to sub- 10nm wavelengths.

Optimization toward a high-average-brightness soft-x-ray laser pumped at grazing incidence

We report the near-field imaging characterization of a 10 Hz Ni-like 18.9 nm molybdenum soft-x-ray laser pumped in a grazing incidence pumping (GRIP) geometry with a table-top laser driver. We investigate the effect of varying the GRIP angle on the spatial behavior of the soft-x-ray laser source. After multiparameter optimization, we were able to find conditions to generate routinely a high-repetition-rate soft-x-ray laser with an energy level of up to 3 microJ/pulse and to 6x10(17) photons/s/mm2/mrad2/(0.1% bandwidth) average brightness and 1x10(28) photons/s/mm2/mrad2/(0.1% bandwidth) peak brightness.

Pulse duration measurements of grazing-incidence-pumped high repetition rate Ni-like Ag and Cd transient soft x-ray lasers

We have measured the pulse duration of gain-saturated 13.9 nm Ni-like Ag and 13.2 nm Ni-like Cd transient collisional lasers excited by grazing-incidence-pumping for several pumping conditions. High-resolution streak-camera measurements yielded FWHM pulse durations close to 5 ps for both lasers under optimum pumping conditions. The very high brightness and short pulse duration of these new high repetition tabletop soft x-ray lasers make them an attractive source for dynamic applications.

High-brightness injection-seeded soft-x-ray-laser amplifier using a solid target

We demonstrate the generation of an intense soft-x-ray-laser beam by saturated amplification of high harmonic seed pulses in a dense transient collisional soft-x-ray-laser plasma amplifier created by heating a titanium target. Amplification in the 32.6 nm line of Ne-like Ti generates laser pulses of subpicosecond duration that are measured to approach full spatial coherence. The peak spectral brightness is estimated to be approximately 2 x 10(26) photons/(s mm(2) mrad(2) 0.01% bandwidth). The scheme is scalable to produce extremely bright lasers at very short wavelengths with full temporal and spatial coherence.

Continuous high-repetition-rate operation of collisional soft-x-ray lasers with solid targets

We have generated a laser average output power of 2 microW at a wavelength of 13.9 nm by operating a tabletop laser-pumped Ni-like Ag laser at a 5 Hz repetition rate, using a solid helicoidal target that is continuously rotated and advanced to renew the target surface between shots. More than 2 x 10(4) soft-x-ray laser shots were obtained by using a single target. Similar results were obtained at 13.2 nm in Ni-like Cd with a Cd-coated target. This scheme will allow uninterrupted operation of laser-pumped tabletop collisional soft-x-ray lasers at a repetition rate of 10 Hz for a period of hours, enabling the generation of continuous high average soft-x-ray powers for applications.

Sub-38 nm resolution tabletop microscopy with 13 nm wavelength laser light

We have acquired images with a spatial resolution better than 38 nm by using a tabletop microscope that combines 13 nm wavelength light from a high-brightness tabletop laser and Fresnel zone plate optics. These results open a gateway to the development of compact and widely available extreme-ultraviolet imaging tools capable of inspecting samples in a variety of environments with a 15-20 nm spatial resolution and a picosecond time resolution.

Characterization and control of plasma density distribution for the development of solid-target x-ray lasers

By using deflectometry of a longitudinal probe pulse and reflective interferometry of a transverse probe pulse to resolve the spatiotemporal distribution of the preformed plasma, we characterize and control the plasma density distribution near the target surface for the development of solid-target x-ray lasers. We show that the use of prepulses in an ignitor-heater scheme can increase the scale length of the preformed plasma and how the effect varies with target materials. Many important issues crucial to x-ray lasing such as electron density distribution, electron temperature, and the optimal timing between pumping pulses can be resolved with these methods.

Saturated 13.2 nm high-repetition-rate laser in nickellike cadmium

We report gain-saturated operation of a 13.2 nm table-top laser in Ni-like Cd at a 5 Hz repetition rate. A gain-length product G x L = 17.6 was obtained by heating a precreated plasma with 8 ps duration Ti:sapphire laser pulses with an energy of only 1 J impinging at a grazing angle of 23 degrees. With an average power of approximately 1 muW [corrected] this laser is an attractive coherent source for at-wavelength metrology of extreme UV lithography optics and other applications.

10-Hz grazing--incidence pumped Ni-like Mo x-ray laser

The operation of a Ni-like Mo x-ray laser at 18.9 nm with a repetition rate of 10 Hz has been demonstrated. The laser has been pumped applying the grazing incidence pump arrangement, where a short (picoseconds) pulse irradiates a Mo plasma column generated by a long (a few hundred picoseconds) pulse. The delayed short pulse is incident at a grazing angle on the plasma to heat it efficiently. We used a total energy of less than 450 mJ ( 150 mJ in the long and 250-300 mJ in the short pulse) in a line focus of 7 mm by 50 microm .