Abstract
Vector beams, beams with a non-uniform state of polarization, have become an indispensable tool in many areas of science and technology. Harnessing topological light properties paves the way to control and manipulate light–matter interactions at different levels, from the quantum to macroscopic physics. Here we generate tabletop extreme ultraviolet (EUV) vector beams driven by high-order harmonic generation (HHG). Our experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that HHG imprints the polarization state of the fundamental (infrared) beam, ranging from radial to azimuthal, into the higher frequency radiation. Our numerical simulations also demonstrate that the generated high-order harmonic beams can be synthesized into attosecond vector beams in the EUV/soft x-ray regime. Our proposal overcomes the state-of-the-art-limitations for the generation of vector beams far from the visible domain and could be applied in fields such as diffractive imaging, EUV lithography, or ultrafast control of magnetic properties.
Highlights
The state of polarization of light is often considered as a property independent of the spatio-temporal beam distribution
The argon gas jet is modeled by a Gaussian distribution along the y and z dimensions, whose full width at half-maximum (FWHM) is 500 μm, and possesses a constant profile along its axial dimension, x, with a peak density of 1017 atoms∕cm3
Both experimentally and theoretically, the generation of coherent vector beams in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) regime driven by high-order harmonic generation (HHG)
Summary
The state of polarization of light is often considered as a property independent of the spatio-temporal beam distribution. Radial vector beams are especially interesting due to the non-vanishing longitudinal electric field component present in tightly focusing systems, which allows one to sharply focus light below the diffraction limit [2,3]. This property has been greatly significant in fields such as laser machining [4,5,6,7], optimal plasmonic focusing [8], particle acceleration [9,10], and molecular orientation determination [2,11]. The resulting harmonic vector beam is detected in the far-field
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