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Measurement and Control of Attosecond Light Fields

Mansten, Erik LU (2009) In Lund Reports on Atomic Physics LRAP-406.
Abstract
Attosecond pulses are used to study electron dynamics in atoms and molecules. In this thesis, schemes to control the generation of attosecond pulses and pulse-shaping techniques to compress the pulses are presented.



Generation of attosecond pulses requires high intensity, which is reached by focusing a pulsed femtosecond laser. The emitted pulses come isolated or in an attosecond pulse train (APT), depending on the duration of the driving field. In several experiments, we have controlled the pulse repetition rate in the APT by adding the second harmonic to the driving field. An APT with one pulse per cycle of the driving field is then generated, instead of a train with two pulses per cycle, which is the case for a... (More)
Attosecond pulses are used to study electron dynamics in atoms and molecules. In this thesis, schemes to control the generation of attosecond pulses and pulse-shaping techniques to compress the pulses are presented.



Generation of attosecond pulses requires high intensity, which is reached by focusing a pulsed femtosecond laser. The emitted pulses come isolated or in an attosecond pulse train (APT), depending on the duration of the driving field. In several experiments, we have controlled the pulse repetition rate in the APT by adding the second harmonic to the driving field. An APT with one pulse per cycle of the driving field is then generated, instead of a train with two pulses per cycle, which is the case for a one-color field. A rather strong second harmonic changes the shape of the generating field, which leads to a tunable central photon energy of the attosecond pulses. With a short driving field an APT containing few pulses is generated. The spectrum of a short APT shows additional interference structures. In analogy with multi-slit interference, these structures are secondary maxima, positioned in between the principal maxima. The number of secondary maxima is related to the number of pulses in the APT. Attosecond pulses are emitted by a macroscopic medium. How the macroscopic conditions affect the pulse duration has also been studied.



Directly after the generation the attosecond pulses have, in general, a relatively long pulse duration. Spectral filtering is important to shape the spectrum and compress the pulses. We have used thin transmission filters and multi-layer XUV-mirrors for filtering. We measured a pulse duration of 130 as, for attosecond pulses generated in Ne and filtered by Zr.



Most schemes to characterize attosecond pulses are based on a cross-correlation with an IR field. We have used the RABITT (reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions) and the AC-streak camera techniques, capable of measuring different types of APT:s.

Finally, attosecond pulses have been used in two application experiments: Momentum shearing interferometry; and the Quantum stroboscope, where electron scattering off the atomic potential was observed. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Dr. Tisch, John, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, United Kingdom
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Pulse characterization, Spectral signature, Two-color generation, Pulse compression, Attosecond pulse trains, High-order harmonics, Pulse shaping, Tunable, Fysicumarkivet A:2009:Mansten
in
Lund Reports on Atomic Physics
volume
LRAP-406
pages
178 pages
publisher
Department of Physics, Lund University
defense location
Lecture hall B, Department of Physics, Professorsgatan 1, Lund University Faculty of Engineering
defense date
2009-04-24 10:15:00
ISSN
0281-2762
ISBN
978-91-628-7756-9
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
70cc2e92-93d8-49b8-b306-19ac75d6b765 (old id 1367287)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:02:31
date last changed
2019-07-05 09:34:13
@phdthesis{70cc2e92-93d8-49b8-b306-19ac75d6b765,
  abstract     = {{Attosecond pulses are used to study electron dynamics in atoms and molecules. In this thesis, schemes to control the generation of attosecond pulses and pulse-shaping techniques to compress the pulses are presented.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Generation of attosecond pulses requires high intensity, which is reached by focusing a pulsed femtosecond laser. The emitted pulses come isolated or in an attosecond pulse train (APT), depending on the duration of the driving field. In several experiments, we have controlled the pulse repetition rate in the APT by adding the second harmonic to the driving field. An APT with one pulse per cycle of the driving field is then generated, instead of a train with two pulses per cycle, which is the case for a one-color field. A rather strong second harmonic changes the shape of the generating field, which leads to a tunable central photon energy of the attosecond pulses. With a short driving field an APT containing few pulses is generated. The spectrum of a short APT shows additional interference structures. In analogy with multi-slit interference, these structures are secondary maxima, positioned in between the principal maxima. The number of secondary maxima is related to the number of pulses in the APT. Attosecond pulses are emitted by a macroscopic medium. How the macroscopic conditions affect the pulse duration has also been studied.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Directly after the generation the attosecond pulses have, in general, a relatively long pulse duration. Spectral filtering is important to shape the spectrum and compress the pulses. We have used thin transmission filters and multi-layer XUV-mirrors for filtering. We measured a pulse duration of 130 as, for attosecond pulses generated in Ne and filtered by Zr.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
Most schemes to characterize attosecond pulses are based on a cross-correlation with an IR field. We have used the RABITT (reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions) and the AC-streak camera techniques, capable of measuring different types of APT:s. <br/><br>
Finally, attosecond pulses have been used in two application experiments: Momentum shearing interferometry; and the Quantum stroboscope, where electron scattering off the atomic potential was observed.}},
  author       = {{Mansten, Erik}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-628-7756-9}},
  issn         = {{0281-2762}},
  keywords     = {{Pulse characterization; Spectral signature; Two-color generation; Pulse compression; Attosecond pulse trains; High-order harmonics; Pulse shaping; Tunable; Fysicumarkivet A:2009:Mansten}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Department of Physics, Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Lund Reports on Atomic Physics}},
  title        = {{Measurement and Control of Attosecond Light Fields}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3124664/2370399.pdf}},
  volume       = {{LRAP-406}},
  year         = {{2009}},
}