Extreme-ultraviolet vector-vortex beams from high harmonic generation

Heras, Alba de las; Pandey, Alok Kumar; Román, Julio San; Serrano, Javier; Baynard, Elsa; Dovillaire, Guillaume; Pittman, M.; Durfee, Charles G.; Plaja, Luis; Kazamias, S.; Guilbaud, Olivier; Hernández-García, Carlos

doi:10.1364/optica.442304

Cited by 40 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 79 publications

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“…3(a-d)), the high-harmonics are generated initially with azimuthal polarization at the gas cell. However, as the Gouy phase-induced phase shift is the same for the IR driving and HHG beams [28], the azimuthal polarization at the gas target remarkably transforms to near-radially polarized high-order harmonics in the far-field. Consequently, in the farfield of the HHG source (Fig.…”

Section: Generation Of High-harmonic Vector-vortex Beamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the macroscopic level, when the emitted radiation from a large number of individual atoms is phase-matched, the HHG allows mapping certain characteristics of the driving beam into the harmonic radiation. Exploiting the field-driven coherent nature of the HHG process, long-wavelength structured-beam driven HHG in noble gases has made long strides, enabling control and manipulation of OAM and/or SAM in the extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) spectral range [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Extreme-ultraviolet structured beams via high harmonic generation

Pandey¹,

Heras²,

Román³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Vigorous efforts to harness the topological properties of light have enabled a multitude of novel applications. Translating the applications of structured light to higher spatial and temporal resolutions mandates their controlled generation, manipulation, and thorough characterization in the short-wavelength regime. Here, we resort to high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in a noble gas to upconvert nearinfrared (IR) vector, vortex, and vector-vortex driving beams that are tailored respectively in their Spin Angular Momentum (SAM), Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM), and simultaneously in their SAM and OAM. We show that HHG enables the controlled generation of extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) vector beams exhibiting various spatially-dependent polarization distributions, or EUV vortex beams with a highly twisted phase. Moreover, we demonstrate the generation of EUV vector-vortex beams (VVB) bearing combined characteristics of vector and vortex beams. We rely on EUV wavefront sensing to unambiguously affirm the topological charge scaling of the HHG beams with the harmonic order. Interestingly, our work shows that HHG allows for a synchronous controlled manipulation of SAM and OAM. These EUV structured beams bring in the promising scenario of their applications at nanometric spatial and sub-femtosecond temporal resolutions using a table-top harmonic source.

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Section: Generation Of High-harmonic Vector-vortex Beamsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme-ultraviolet structured beams via high harmonic generation

Pandey¹,

Heras²,

Román³

et al. 2022

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The idea that orbital angular momentum (OAM) can exist within OVs, and a method of generating it, was first suggested by Allen et al [8], thus providing a new way to study the effects of the connection between quantum and classical optics (paraxial beams). Studies that involve OVs range from research on the use of optical tweezers for particle trapping and manipulation [9], quantum applications [10][11][12][13], biomedical applications [14], superhigh-resolution imaging [15][16][17], optical communications [18], and ultraviolet and X-ray light [19,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Spatio-Temporal Couplings on Focused Optical Vortices

2022

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Ultra-intense laser pulses with helical phases are of interest in laser-driven charged particle acceleration and related experiments with extreme light. However, such optical vortices can be affected by the presence of residual spatial-temporal couplings. Their field distributions after propagating in free-space and in the focal plane of an ideal focusing mirror were assessed through numerical modeling, based on the Gaussian decomposition method for a 25 fs pulse with a Supergaussian spatial profile. The wash-out of the central hole in the doughnut-shaped profile in the focal plane corresponds to the rotation of the phase discontinuity.

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“…In the last decade, structured vortex light has been successfully applied to drive highly non-linear interactions in matter, such as structured high-order harmonic generation (HHG), leading to the creation of ultrashort structured pulses in the extremeultraviolet domain [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] . An interesting aspect of this capacity to structure the HHG radiation is that it allows us to spatially separate harmonics radiation with different properties, enabling control over the polarization of ultrashort pulses 35,36 or their spectral content 37 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structuring the local handedness of synthetic chiral light: global chirality versus polarization of chirality

Rego

Ayuso

2022

Preprint

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Synthetic chiral light enables ultrafast and highly efficient imaging of molecular chirality. Unlike standard circularly polarized light, the handedness of synthetic chiral light does not rely on the spatial structure of the light field: it is encoded locally, in the chiral trajectory that the tip of the electric-field vector draws in time, at each point in space. Being locally chiral, already within the electric-dipole approximation, synthetic chiral light is a highly efficient chiral photonic reagent. Synthetic chiral light that is locally and globally chiral allows us to selectively quench the nonlinear response of a selected molecular enantiomer while maximizing it in its mirror twin at the level of total signal intensities. Synthetic chiral light that exhibits polarization of chirality allows us to realize a chiral version of Young’s double-slit experiment that leads to enantio-sensitive light bending. Here we connect these two new concepts and show how one can structure the local and global handedness of synthetic chiral light in space, and how these local and global properties are imprinted in the enantio-sensitive response of the chiral molecules, creating new opportunities for ultrafast, all-optical and highly efficient imaging of molecular chirality.

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Extreme-ultraviolet vector-vortex beams from high harmonic generation

Cited by 40 publications

References 79 publications

Extreme-ultraviolet structured beams via high harmonic generation

Extreme-ultraviolet structured beams via high harmonic generation

Influence of Spatio-Temporal Couplings on Focused Optical Vortices

Structuring the local handedness of synthetic chiral light: global chirality versus polarization of chirality

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