Attosecond Nonlinear Optics

nonlinear attosecond science

Background:  Ever since the invention of the visible laser over 50 years ago, scientists have been striving to create lasers that generate coherent beams at shorter wavelengths i.e. the extreme UV (EUV) and soft X-ray (SXR) regions of the spectrum. This quest has led to the construction of large facilities, such as kilometer-scale x-ray free-electron lasers, to reach the keV photon energy region. Ultimately however, to be broadly accessible for science, medicine and industry, laser-like (i.e. coherent) x-ray sources need to be much smaller and cheaper. 
 
 
Recommended Sources:  Pantheon and XUUS.
 
Specifications:  multi-kHz rep rate; 20 to 100 eV; < 10 fs; 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.

 

Spin Dynamics

Spin DynamicsBackground:  Magnetism has been the subject of scientific inquiry for more than 2000 years. However, it is still an incompletely understood phenomenon. The fundamental length and time scales for magnetic phenomena range from Å (exchange lengths) and sub-femtoseconds (exchange splitting) on up. Furthermore, a detailed understanding of nanoscale magnetism is critical in the 21st century with dramatic increases in data usage and the the critical need for faster, energy-efficient nanodevices. 
 
 
Recommended Sources:  Pantheon and XUUS.
 
Specifications:  multi-kHz rep rate; 20 to 100 eV; < 10 fs; 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.
 
 

 

Time, Angle-Resolved Photoelectron Spectroscopy (ARPES)

Data preview 3

Background:  High harmonics are ideal as the illumination source for time- and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (trARPES), which can measure the full electronic band structure of a material. Moreover, a new generation of ultrafast (~50-100fs), MHz rep rate, VUV (1-20eV) highly-cascaded high harmonics driven by compact fiber lasers have 10-100meV energy resolution, and are ideal for spin-resolved ARPES (Optica 7, 832 (2020)). 

Read more -->

Recommended Sources:  Hyperion VUV and Pantheon.

Specifications:  multi-kHz to MHz rep rate; 6 to 80 eV; 10 - 300 fs; 40 - 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.

Webinar:  Replay talk from Henry Kapteyn and Margaret Murnane.

 

Nanoimaging

nanoimagingBackground:  Although x-ray imaging has been explored for decades, and visible-wavelength microscopy for centuries, it is only recently that the spectral region in between―the extreme ultraviolet (EUV)―has been explored for imaging nanostructures and nanomaterials. With the practical implementation of coherent EUV light sources based on high harmonic generation (HHG), combined with coherent diffractive imaging (CDI), we have shown that EUV imaging has unique advantages. 

Read more --> 

Recommended Sources:  Hyperion VUV and Pantheon.

Specifications:  multi-kHz to MHz rep rate; 6 to 80 eV; 10 - 300 fs; 40 - 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.

 

Nanoscale Energy Transport

nanoscale energy transportBackground:  Heat transport is driven by a thermal gradient, flowing from hot to cold regions in a material. However, at dimensions < 100 nm, bulk models no longer accurately predict the transport properties of materials. Because no complete models of nanoscale heat transport were available, many researchers assumed instead that bulk-like diffusive heat transport was valid – provided that an effective parameter, such as a size-dependent thermal conductivity, was incorporated. Such a simple model makes it challenging to implement smart predictive designs for thermal management in nanodevices. 

Read more -->

Recommended Sources:  Pantheon and XUUS.
 
Specifications:  multi-kHz rep rate; 20 to 100 eV; < 10 fs; 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.

 

Nanoparticle Dynamics

Nanostructured materialsBackground: Nanoparticles exhibit a surface-area-to-volume ratio many orders of magnitude higher than bulk materials, allowing them to serve as powerful catalysts for chemical reactions, both in the laboratory and as atmospheric aerosols. Such surface-catalyzed chemical reactions often involve molecular motions that take place on femtosecond and picosecond timescales, with associated electronic dynamics that can occur on attosecond time scales. To capture and understand these dynamics, new experimental techniques are needed to probe nanoparticles on femtosecond-to-attosecond time scales. Furthermore, theoretical models of nanoparticle surface dynamics are best validated with measurements performed in the absence of solvents or ligands. 

Read more -->

Recommended Sources:  Hyperion VUV and Pantheon.

Specifications:  multi-kHz to MHz rep rate; 6 to 80 eV; 10 - 300 fs; 40 - 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.

 

Nanoscale Acoustic Metrologies

Nanoscale Acoustic PropertiesBackground:  The demand for faster, more efficient, and more compact nanoelectronic devices, like smartphone chips, requires engineers to develop increasingly complex designs. To achieve this, engineers use layer upon layer of very thin films – as thin as only a couple strands of DNA – with impurities added, to tailor the function. However, the presence of these necessary impurities and extreme thinness degrades the material strength, reducing its performance and making it more likely to fail. 

Read more -->

Recommended Sources:  Pantheon and XUUS.
 
Specifications:  multi-kHz rep rate; 20 to 100 eV; < 10 fs; 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.

 

Ultrafast Laser Science

nonlinear attosecond science-1Background:  Science and technology are inextricably linked and continue to drive each other. Ultrafast lasers have revolutionized our understanding of how molecules and materials work and how charges, spins, phonons and photons interact dynamically. In past research, KMLabs designed Ti:sapphire lasers that operated at the limits of pulse duration and stability, with adjustable pulse durations from 7 fs on up. These lasers are now a standard fixture in thousands of laboratories worldwide. More recently, we developed tabletop high peak-power, high average-power lasers with unprecedented short pulse duration, spanning the UV to the mid-infrared regions of the spectrum. 

Read more -->

Recommended Sources:  Hyperion VUV and Pantheon.

Specifications:  multi-kHz to MHz rep rate; 6 to 80 eV; 10 - 300 fs; 40 - 1300 meV linewidth; 1010 - 1014 ph/s flux.