Ultrafast Ultraviolet C and Visible Laser Light with Broadly Tunable Spectrum

Dimitar Popmintchev; Aref Imani; Paolo Carpegiani; Joris Roman; Siyang Wang; Jieyu Yan; Sirius Song; Ryan Clairmont; Ayush Singh; Edgar Kaksis; Tobias FlÖry; Audrius PugŽLys; Andrius BaltuŠKa; Tenio Popmintchev

arXiv · 2307.00434

Ultrafast Ultraviolet C and Visible Laser Light with Broadly Tunable Spectrum

Dimitar Popmintchev·Aref Imani·Paolo Carpegiani·Joris Roman·Siyang Wang·Jieyu Yan·Sirius Song·Ryan Clairmont·Ayush Singh·Edgar Kaksis·Tobias FlÖry·Audrius PugŽLys·Andrius BaltuŠKa·Tenio Popmintchev

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Abstract

We demonstrate a versatile technique for generating continuously wavelength-tunable laser waveforms, with mJ pulse energies and ultrashort pulse durations down to few-cycle in the ultraviolet C and visible spectral ranges. Using the processes of self-phase modulation or Raman-induced spectral broadening, we substantially expand the spectrum of a femtosecond 1030 nm Yb:CaF$_{2}$ laser, allowing for an extensive wavelength-tunability of the second and fourth harmonics of the laser within the visible and ultraviolet C spectral regions at 460-580 nm and 230-290 nm. In addition, our approach exploits nonlinearly assisted self-compression in the second harmonic upconversion of the spectrally broadened infrared pulses with high-order dispersion. This results in 8-30 femtosecond pulses in the visible with an intensity enhancement of up to 30 times. Such an ultrashort visible and ultraviolet C source is ideal for investigating ultrafast dynamics in molecules, solids, and bio and nano systems. Furthermore, this tunable light source enables the generation of bright, narrow-bandwidth, continuously wavelength-tunable, coherent light in the extreme ultraviolet to soft X-ray spectral region. Theoretically, the X-ray pulse structure can consist of sub-200 as pulse trains, making such a source highly suitable for dynamic multidimensional imaging. This includes coherent diffractive imaging of ferromagnetic nanostructures where resonant X-ray scattering is essential, as well as X-ray absorption spectroscopies of advanced quantum materials at pico-nanometer spatial and atto-femtosecond temporal scales.

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Dimitar Popmintchev, Aref Imani, Paolo Carpegiani, Joris Roman, Siyang Wang, Jieyu Yan, Sirius Song, Ryan Clairmont, Ayush Singh, Edgar Kaksis, Tobias FlÖry, Audrius PugŽLys, Andrius BaltuŠKa, Tenio Popmintchev. 2023-07-01. Ultrafast Ultraviolet C and Visible Laser Light with Broadly Tunable Spectrum. https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.00434

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