Extreme Ultraviolet Laser Research Articles

Evidence of partial temporal coherence effects in the linear autocorrelation of extreme ultraviolet laser pulses.

We study how the degree of temporal coherence of plasma-based extreme ultraviolet lasers operated in the amplification of the spontaneous emission mode is encoded in the shape of the linear autocorrelation function, which is obtained from the variation of the fringe visibility while varying the delay in a variable path-difference interferometer. We discuss the implications of this effect when the technique is used to infer the spectral properties of the source. Our numerical simulations, based on a partial coherence model developed by other authors for x-ray free electron lasers, are in good agreement with previously reported sets of measurements, illustrating similar statistical properties for both sources.

Ablation and transmission of thin solid targets irradiated by intense extreme ultraviolet laser radiation

The interaction of an extreme ultraviolet (EUV) laser beam with a parylene foil was studied by experiments and simulation. A single EUV laser pulse of nanosecond duration focused to an intensity of 3 × 1010 W cm−2 perforated micrometer thick targets. The same laser pulse was simultaneously used to diagnose the interaction by a transmission measurement. A combination of 2-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic and diffraction calculations was used to model the ablation, leading to good agreement with experiment. This theoretical approach allows predictive modelling of the interaction with matter of intense EUV beams over a broad range of parameters.

Desorption/ablation of lithium fluoride induced by extreme ultraviolet laser radiation

Abstract The availability of reliable modeling tools and input data required for the prediction of surface removal rate from the lithium fluoride targets irradiated by the intense photon beams is essential for many practical aspects. This study is motivated by the practical implementation of soft X-ray (SXR) or extreme ultraviolet (XUV) lasers for the pulsed ablation and thin film deposition. Specifically, it is focused on quantitative description of XUV laser-induced desorption/ablation from lithium fluoride, which is a reference large band-gap dielectric material with ionic crystalline structure. Computational framework was proposed and employed here for the reconstruction of plume expansion dynamics induced by the irradiation of lithium fluoride targets. The morphology of experimentally observed desorption/ablation craters were reproduced using idealized representation (two-zone approximation) of the laser fluence profile. The calculation of desorption/ablation rate was performed using one-dimensional thermomechanic model (XUV-ABLATOR code) taking into account laser heating and surface evaporation of the lithium fluoride target occurring on a nanosecond timescale. This step was followed by the application of two-dimensional hydrodynamic solver for description of laser-produced plasma plume expansion dynamics. The calculated plume lengths determined by numerical simulations were compared with a simple adiabatic expansion (blast-wave) model.

High intensity vacuum ultraviolet and extreme ultraviolet production by noncollinear mixing in laser vaporized media.

A method is described for generating intense pulsed vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) and extreme ultraviolet (XUV) laser radiation by resonance enhanced four-wave mixing of commercial pulsed nanosecond lasers in laser vaporized mercury under windowless conditions. By employing noncollinear mixing of the input beams, the need of dispersive elements such as gratings for separating the VUV/XUV from the residual UV and visible beams is eliminated. A number of schemes are described, facilitating access to the 9.9-14.6 eV range. A simple and convenient scheme for generating wavelengths of 125 nm, 112 nm, and 104 nm (10 eV, 11 eV, and 12 eV) using two dye lasers without the need for dye changes is described.

Predissociation dynamics in the 3pπD(1)Πu (±)υ=3 and 4pσB(″) (1)Σu (+)υ=1 states of H2 revealed by product branching ratios and fragment angular distributions.

The predissociation dynamics of H2+XUV→H2 (*)→H(1s)+H(2s,2p) has been studied by measuring the fragment branching ratios between the H(2s) and H(2p) states and the fragment angular distributions using the XUV (extreme ultraviolet) laser pump and UV(ultraviolet) laser probe method. The fragment angular distributions for the predissociation of the 3pπD(1)Πu (+)υ=3 state show parallel transitions, demonstrating that the main components of the dissociating state have (1)Σu (+) symmetry. The measured fragment branching ratios, H(2s)/(H(2s) + H(2p)), for the transitions R(0), R(1), and P(2) in 3pπD(1)Πu (+)υ=3←X(1)Σg (+)υ(″)=0 are in good agreement with one of the previous theoretical predictions. The predissociations of the 3pπD(1)Πu (-)(υ=3) state arising from the Q(1), Q(2), and Q(3) lines have also been observed. The angular distributions and the state distributions of the excited fragments (all found from the H(2p) state) illustrate that the dissociating states for the Q lines have the expected Πu (-) symmetry. The predissociation dynamics of the transition 4pσB(″1)Σu (+)υ=1←X(1)Σg (+)υ(″)=0 was also studied. Their fragment angular distributions show the expected parallel transitions, and most of the fragments are in the H(2s) states. The Beutler-Fano profiles and the associated spectroscopic parameters for the predissociations have also been obtained by measuring the fragment yield of H(2s, 2p) as a function of excitation photon energies.

Ionization of helium by intense XUV laser pulses: Numerical simulations on channel-resolved probabilities

Ionization of a helium atom by intense extreme ultraviolet laser pulses is investigated in a frequency regime where the high-frequency stabilization condition is only fulfilled for the lowest single ionization channel. Multiphoton double ionization substantially contributes to the total ionization probability for superintense fields. As a result, no obvious stabilization against total ionization occurs. A detailed view of probabilities into different single ionization channels as a function of the field strength is presented. We find that the probabilities into some ionic channels peak at field strengths corresponding to one-photon resonances between field-dressed ionic states in the high-frequency Floquet theory. Thus we propose a sequential ``ionization-excitation'' mechanism in the dressed energy picture: first, one-photon absorption causes single ionization, leaving the ion in its dressed ground state; second, the ion is excited to a new state via one-photon absorption at the field strength where the resonance condition in the dressed ionic system is fulfilled. To reveal the sequential mechanism in the time domain, we also take a time-dependent view on the channel-resolved probabilities, observing the decrease of the ground-state ionic channel probability during the laser pulse when the field strength is such that a resonance condition exists between the dressed states in the ion.

Neon shortage looms

A looming shortage of neon gas threatens to create problems for manufacturers of semiconductors and the devices they power beginning in 2017. Producers of the latest computer and cell phone chips use a laser-enabled photolithography technique to create transistors and other device features. Deep ultraviolet lasers, which contain neon gas as a buffer, have made it possible to pack an increasing number of transistors on chips that now boast features as small as 14 nm wide. Semiconductor makers had hoped to transition by this year to extreme ultraviolet lasers, which enable even smaller features but don’t require the noble gas. But delays in that technology mean the industry will continue to rely on neon-consuming lasers, “pushing up demand for neon beyond what the supply chain can support” by 2017, says Lita Shon-Roy, CEO of Techcet, a consulting firm that issued a report on the problem. Chip makers, which account for

Femtosecond Extreme Ultraviolet Photoemission Spectroscopy: Observation of Ultrafast Charge Transfer at the n-TiO2/p-Si(100) Interface with Controlled TiO2 Oxygen Vacancies

Wide band gap heterostructures can be accurately fabricated at room temperature to exhibit remarkable electrical properties that facilitate the transfer of electrons across the heterojunction while blocking the transfer of holes. The present investigation focuses on engineering the electronic structure of a TiO2 overlayer on a p-type doped Si(100) substrate by controlling the concentration of TiO2 oxygen vacancies. TiO2 films are deposited on p-Si(100) in an ultrahigh vacuum setup by evaporation of Ti atoms at a constant rate in a variable O2 atmosphere. The concentration of oxygen vacancies and consequently the degree of n-type doping of TiO2 is tuned by controlling the oxygen background pressure during the TiO2 formation. To investigate the electronic structure and the concentration of defects in the TiO2 layer as well as to characterize the TiO2/p-Si(100) band alignment we used photoelectron spectroscopy employing femtosecond extreme ultraviolet laser pulses produced via high harmonic generation. Furth...

Frequency-domain view of nonsequential double ionization in intense laser fields

The research of laser-matter interaction has become a major direction in the field of laser physics since the invention of laser in 1960. Based on the development of the laser technique in the recent several decades, the ranges of the laser's frequency, intensity and pulse width have been explored widely. Therefore, the excitation, emission and ionization dynamic processes of a complex system in intense laser fields have been studied deeply. Especially, the nonsequential double ionization (NSDI) process has continuously attracted much attention from both experimental and theoretical sides. So far, the recollision picture is widely accepted as a dominating mechanism accounting for the NSDI process under an infrared (IR) laser field condition. This recollision picture can be classified into two mechanisms:the collision-ionization (CI) mechanism and the collision-excitation-ionization (CEI) mechanism. Recently, it is found that the NSDI process can take place in an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) laser field, and thus few-photon double ionization has been extensive studied by solving the full-dimensional time-dependent Schrdinger equation (TDSE) and the conventional nonstationary perturbation theory. This article reviews the frequency-domain theory of the NSDI processes of an atom in a monochromatic IR and IR+XUV two-color laser fields. In contrast with other approaches, such as the TDSE calculation and S-matrix method, the frequency-domain theory based on the nonperturbative quantum electrodynamics is involved in some advantages:(i) all the recollision processes, including high-order above-threshold ionization (HATI), high-order harmonic generation (HHG) and NSDI, can be dealt under the unified theoretical frame and can be decoupled into two processesa direct above-threshold ionization (ATI) followed by a laser-assisted collision (LAC) or by a laser-assisted recombination process, where these subprocesses can be investigated separately; (ii) the approach can save a lot of computation time because of its nature of time-independent. In this review, we show the different momentum spectral distributions under the CI and CEI mechanisms in the IR and IR+XUV laser fields. With the help of the channel analysis, we compare the contributions of the forward and backward collisions to the NSDI under two conditions of the monochromic IR and IR+XUV two-color laser fields. It is found that, in the CI mechanism, the backward collision makes major contribution to the NSDI in the IR laser field, while the forward collision plays a crucial role in the NSDI when the energy of the recolliding electron is very large in the IR+XUV two-color laser fields. Furthermore, by employing the saddle-point approximation, it is found that the momentum spectrum, whether in the monochromic IR or the IR+XUV two-color laser fields, is attributed to the interference between two trajectories at different saddle-point t0 and 2/1-t0 (1 is the frequency of an IR laser field) when the collision happens in each channel. On the other hand, in the CEI mechanism, the momentum spectra in the monochromic IR or the IR+XUV two-color laser fields present a distinct difference. It is further found that the momentum spectrum in the IR+XUV two-color laser fields is involved in the much more channels than that in the monochromic IR laser field, and thus the complex interference patterns in the momentum spectrum in the two-color laser fields are shown. Moreover, it is found that, in both the CI and CEI mechanisms, the XUV laser field in the NSDI not only can enhance the ionization probability of the first electron, but also can accelerate the first ionized electron so that the bound electron can gain much energy by collision, which is in favor of significant boost of the NSDI probability. This work can help people understand more deeply about the NSDI, and also may pave a way for us to continue investigating the NSDI process of complex system in intense laser fields.

Invited Article: Progress in coherent lithography using table-top extreme ultraviolet lasers.

Compact (table top) lasers emitting at wavelengths below 50 nm had expanded the spectrum of applications in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV). Among them, the high-flux, highly coherent laser sources enabled lithographic approaches with distinctive characteristics. In this review, we will describe the implementation of a compact EUV lithography system capable of printing features with sub-50 nm resolution using Talbot imaging. This compact system is capable of producing consistent defect-free samples in a reliable and effective manner. Examples of different patterns and structures fabricated with this method will be presented.

Spontaneous and artificial direct nanostructuring of solid surface by extreme ultraviolet laser with nanosecond pulses

AbstractNanostructuring can be either spontaneously appearing (such as laser-induced periodic surface structures, and diffraction patterns – for example, in windows of grid proximity-standing at the ablated target-surface) or artificially created (like – as we hoped – interference patterns) that can be in some extend controlled. Due to that a new interferometer (belonging to wave-front division category) with two aspheric mirrors has been developed. Each of these mirrors reflects approximately one half of incoming laser beam and focuses it into a point image. Both focused beams have to intersect each other, and in the intersection region an interference pattern was expected. However, the first tests showed that some other spontaneously appearing interference pattern with substantially larger fringe-pitch is generated. The origin of this idle interference pattern is discussed.

Measurement of a subpicosecond coherence time in a quasi-steady-state XUV laser

A plasma-based extreme ultraviolet (XUV) laser is experimentally characterized to have a record-short coherence time of ~500 femtoseconds, which paves the way to amplify weak high-harmonic-generation (HHG) radiation sources without losing their ultrashort, femtosecond characteristics.

Single Shot Polarization Characterization of XUV FEL Pulses from Crossed Polarized Undulators.

Polarization control is a key feature of light generated by short-wavelength free-electron lasers. In this work, we report the first experimental characterization of the polarization properties of an extreme ultraviolet high gain free-electron laser operated with crossed polarized undulators. We investigate the average degree of polarization and the shot-to-shot stability and we analyze aspects such as existing possibilities for controlling and switching the polarization state of the emitted light. The results are in agreement with predictions based on Gaussian beams propagation.

Ablation of Submicrometer Holes Using an Extreme-Ultraviolet Laser

Simulations and experiments are used to study extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) laser drilling of submicrometer holes. The ablation process is studied with a 2D Eulerian hydrodynamic code that includes bound-free absorption processes relevant to the interaction of EUV lasers with a solid material. Good agreement is observed between the simulated and measured ablated depths for on-target irradiances of up to 1×1010 W cm−2. An increase in the irradiance to 1×1012 W cm−2 is predicted to ablate material to a depth of 3.8 μm from a single pulse with a hole diameter 3 to 4 times larger than the focal spot size. The model allows for the simulation of the interaction of a laser pulse with the crater created by a previous shot. Multiple-pulse lower-fluence irradiation configurations under optimized focusing conditions, i.e., approaching the diffraction limit, are shown to be advantageous for applications requiring mesoscale [(100 nm)–(1 μm)] features and a high level of control over the ablation profile.

Breaking DNA strands by extreme-ultraviolet laser pulses in vacuum.

Ionizing radiation induces a variety of DNA damages including single-strand breaks (SSBs), double-strand breaks (DSBs), abasic sites, modified sugars, and bases. Most theoretical and experimental studies have been focused on DNA strand scissions, in particular production of DNA double-strand breaks. DSBs have been proven to be a key damage at a molecular level responsible for the formation of chromosomal aberrations, leading often to cell death. We have studied the nature of DNA damage induced directly by the pulsed 46.9-nm (26.5eV) radiation provided by an extreme ultraviolet (XUV) capillary-discharge Ne-like Ar laser (CDL). Doses up to 45 kGy were delivered with a repetition rate of 3 Hz. We studied the dependence of the yield of SSBs and DSBs of a simple model of DNA molecule (pBR322) on the CDL pulse fluence. Agarose gel electrophoresis method was used for determination of both SSB and DSB yields. The action cross sections of the single- and double-strand breaks of pBR322 plasmid DNA in solid state were determined. We observed an increase in the efficiency of strand-break induction in the supercoiled DNA as a function of laser pulse fluence. Results are compared to those acquired at synchrotron radiation facilities and other sources of extreme-ultraviolet and soft x-ray radiation.

Generation of warm dense matter using an argon based capillary discharge laser

Argon based capillary discharge lasers operating in the extreme ultra violet (EUV) at 46.9 nm with output up to 0.5 mJ energy per pulse and repetition rates up to 10 Hz are capable of focused irradiances of 109–1012 W cm−2 and can be used to generate plasma in the warm dense matter regime by irradiating solid material. To model the interaction between such an EUV laser and solid material, the 2D radiative-hydrodynamic code POLLUX has been modified to include absorption via direct photo-ionisation, a super-configuration model to describe the ionization-dependent electronic configurations and a calculation of plasma refractive indices for ray tracing of the incident EUV laser radiation. A simulation study is presented, demonstrating how capillary discharge lasers of 1200 ps pulse duration can be used to generate warm dense matter at close to solid densities with temperatures of a few eV and energy densities up to 1 × 105 J cm−3. Plasmas produced by EUV laser irradiation are shown to be useful for examining the properties of warm dense matter as, for example, plasma emission is not masked by hotter, less dense plasma emission that occurs with visible/infra-red laser target irradiation.

Three-dimensional nanoscale molecular imaging by extreme ultraviolet laser ablation mass spectrometry.

Analytical probes capable of mapping molecular composition at the nanoscale are of critical importance to materials research, biology and medicine. Mass spectral imaging makes it possible to visualize the spatial organization of multiple molecular components at a sample's surface. However, it is challenging for mass spectral imaging to map molecular composition in three dimensions (3D) with submicron resolution. Here we describe a mass spectral imaging method that exploits the high 3D localization of absorbed extreme ultraviolet laser light and its fundamentally distinct interaction with matter to determine molecular composition from a volume as small as 50 zl in a single laser shot. Molecular imaging with a lateral resolution of 75 nm and a depth resolution of 20 nm is demonstrated. These results open opportunities to visualize chemical composition and chemical changes in 3D at the nanoscale.

Photoionized plasmas induced in neon with extreme ultraviolet and soft X-ray pulses produced using low and high energy laser systems

A comparative study of photoionized plasmas created by two soft X-ray and extreme ultraviolet (SXR/EUV) laser plasma sources with different parameters is presented. The two sources are based on double-stream Xe/He gas-puff targets irradiated with high (500 J/0.3 ns) and low energy (10 J/1 ns) laser pulses. In both cases, the SXR/EUV beam irradiated the gas stream, injected into a vacuum chamber synchronously with the radiation pulse. Irradiation of gases resulted in formation of photoionized plasmas emitting radiation in the SXR/EUV range. The measured Ne plasma radiation spectra are dominated by emission lines corresponding to radiative transitions in singly charged ions. A significant difference concerns origin of the lines: K-shell or L-shell emissions occur in case of the high and low energy irradiating system, respectively. In high energy system, the electron density measurements were also performed by laser interferometry, employing a femtosecond laser system. A maximum electron density for Ne plasma reached the value of 2·1018 cm−3. For the low energy system, a detection limit was too high for the interferometric measurements, thus only an upper estimation for electron density could be made.

Monte Carlo simulation of electron dynamics in liquid water

We present a stochastic model for the energy loss of low-energy electrons (<100 eV) in water in the liquid phase. More precisely, we treat the electrons as independent particles and are thus able to model the time evolution of the kinetic energy of a single electron as a so-called pure jump process. Free electrons are created due to irradiation of an extreme ultraviolet femtosecond laser pulse. In our model, free electrons may interact with water molecules via elastic scattering and impact ionization. Moreover, we present numerical results for the kinetic energy of electrons during and after laser irradiation. Furthermore, we distinguish between primary and secondary electrons, where the latter are created by impact ionization. The numerical results show that creation of secondary electrons due to impact ionization occurs almost entirely during laser irradiation. After irradiation, only a small amount of the laser pulse energy remains in the electron system, while the majority is stored in holes of water molecules.

Diagnosis of energy transport in iron buried layer targets using an extreme ultraviolet laser

We demonstrate the use of extreme ultra-violet (EUV) laboratory lasers in probing energy transport in laser irradiated solid targets. EUV transmission through targets containing a thin layer of iron (50 nm) encased in plastic (CH) after irradiation by a short pulse (35 fs) laser focussed to irradiances 3 × 1016 Wcm−2 is measured. Heating of the iron layer gives rise to a rapid decrease in EUV opacity and an increase in the transmission of the 13.9 nm laser radiation as the iron ionizes to Fe5+ and above where the ion ionisation energy is greater than the EUV probe photon energy (89 eV). A one dimensional hydrodynamic fluid code HYADES has been used to simulate the temporal variation in EUV transmission (wavelength 13.9 nm) using IMP opacity values for the iron layer and the simulated transmissions are compared to measured transmission values. When a deliberate pre-pulse is used to preform an expanding plastic plasma, it is found that radiation is important in the heating of the iron layer while for pre-pulse free irradiation, radiation transport is not significant.