Water-window Spectral Region Research Articles

Observation of water-window soft x-ray emission from laser-produced Au plasma under optically thin condition

We present a systematic approach how to characterize the dynamics of a laser-produced Au plasma, generated with a commercial Joule-class laser system. By means of our diagnostic methods, we identify the dominant ionic species within the water-window spectral region, as well as the radiated energy, the x-ray emission duration and the total dimensions of the x-ray source. We present additional analysis through radiation hydrodynamic simulations to provide details about the electron temperature and density profiles and further show that the plasma exhibits nearly 20% self-absorption, while the electron temperature is limited to 400 eV. A comparison with the experimental data further allows us to verify the applied numerical code.

Water window soft x-ray source enabled by a 25 W few-cycle 2.2 µm OPCPA at 100 kHz

Coherent soft x-ray (SXR) sources enable fundamental studies in the important water window spectral region. Until now, such sources have been limited to repetition rates of 1 kHz or less, which restricts count rates and signal-to-noise ratio for a variety of experiments. SXR generation at high repetition rate has remained challenging because of the missing high-power infrared laser sources to drive the high-harmonic generation (HHG) process. Here we present an optical parametric chirped pulse amplifier (OPCPA) centered at a wavelength of 2.2 µm and generating 16.5 fs pulses (2.2 oscillation cycles of the carrier wave) with 25 W of average power and a peak power exceeding 14 GW at 100 kHz pulse repetition rate. This corresponds to the highest reported peak power for high-repetition-rate long-wavelength laser systems. The output of this 2.2 µm OPCPA system was used to generate a coherent SXR radiation extending beyond 0.6 keV through HHG in a high-pressure gas cell.

Novel method for the angular chirp compensation of passively CEP-stable few-cycle pulses.

We demonstrate a novel, energy-efficient, cost-effective simple method for seeding CEP-stable OPCPAs. We couple the CEP-stable idler of a broadband OPCPA into a hollow core Kagome fiber thus compensating for the angular chirp. We obtain either relatively narrow bandwidths with ∼36% coupling efficiency or quarter-octave spanning bandwidths with ∼2.2% coupling efficiency. We demonstrate spectral compressibility, good beam quality and CEP stability. Our source is an ideal seed for high-energy, high-average power, CEP-stable few-cycle OPCPA pulses around 2 µm, which can drive the generation of coherent soft X-ray radiation in the water window spectral region via HHG.

X-ray imaging of bio/medical samples using laser-plasma-based X-ray sources and LiF detector

This contribution to ECPD2019 is dedicated to the memory of Anatoly Faenov. During a period of approximately thirteen years 1994–2006, Anatoly and his wife Tatiana Pikuz (simply “Tania” for friends), accepting the frequent invitations of the National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN) and of the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development (ENEA), cooperated with many Italian research laboratories dedicated to EUV and soft X-ray generation, spread in different towns (L'Aquila, Frascati, Milano, Padova, Pisa, Roma, etc.). In spite of the fact that they could stay in Italy only about one or two months per year, their activity was so intense that more than 50 peer- reviewed publications were generated from their experimental and theoretical work (just considering only the results obtained at L'Aquila and Tor Vergata—Rome Universities and at the ENEA Research Center of Frascati), without mentioning the cultural atmosphere that they stimulated in the field of Science and Humanity. The numerous experimental spectra obtained at ENEA by means of their spherically bent mica spectrometers, together with the corresponding theoretical simulations performed in Moscow, allowed to study the changing role of different excitations mechanisms for various plasma conditions, and to characterize at best the ENEA laser-plasma source for different applications: polychromatic and monochromatic micro-radiography of dried biological samples at 1 keV, soft X-ray contact microscopy (SXCM) of living cells in the water-window spectral region, spectroscopy of hollow atoms, etc. In this memorial paper, the main results of biological samples imaging on lithium fluoride (LiF) detectors, obtained with the ENEA and Tor Vergata University laser-plasma sources, are presented. In particular, the improvement of the micro-radiography and of the SXCM techniques obtained after moving from photoresist detectors and photographic films to lithium fluoride (LiF) detectors are discussed, for both dried and wet biological samples.

Near- and Extended-Edge X-Ray-Absorption Fine-Structure Spectroscopy Using Ultrafast Coherent High-Order Harmonic Supercontinua

Recent advances in high-order harmonic generation have made it possible to use a tabletop-scale setup to produce spatially and temporally coherent beams of light with bandwidth spanning 12 octaves, from the ultraviolet up to x-ray photon energies >1.6 keV. Here we demonstrate the use of this light for x-ray-absorption spectroscopy at the K- and L-absorption edges of solids at photon energies near 1keV. We also report x-ray-absorption spectroscopy in the water window spectral region (284-543eV) using a high flux high-order harmonic generation x-ray supercontinuum with 10^{9} photons/s in 1% bandwidth, 3 orders of magnitude larger than has previously been possible using tabletop sources. Since this x-ray radiation emerges as a single attosecond-to-femtosecond pulse with peak brightness exceeding 10^{26} photons/s/mrad^{2}/mm^{2}/1% bandwidth, these novel coherent x-ray sources are ideal for probing the fastest molecular and materials processes on femtosecond-to-attosecond time scales and picometer length scales.

Polarization gating of high harmonic generation in the water window

We implement the polarization gating (PG) technique with a two-cycle, 1.7 μm driving field to generate an attosecond supercontinuum extending to the water window spectral region. The ellipticity dependence of the high harmonic yield over a photon energy range much broader than previous work is measured and compared with a semi-classical model. When PG is applied, the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) is swept to study its influence on the continuum generation. PG with one-cycle (5.7 fs) and two-cycle (11.3 fs) delay are tested, and both give continuous spectra spanning from 50 to 450 eV under certain CEP values, strongly indicating the generation of isolated attosecond pulses in the water window region.

Coherent amplification of attosecond light pulses in the water-window spectral region.

We present a theoretical study on coherent extreme ultraviolet (XUV) attosecond pulse amplification mediated by nonlinear parametric enhanced forward scattering occurring in the interaction of a strong femtosecond infrared (IR) laser pulse combined with a weak attosecond XUV pulse train with an atom. We predict large amplification of XUV radiation when the IR strong pulse and the XUV weak pulse are optimally phased. We study high-order harmonic processes (HHG) in He, He(+) and Ne(++), and show how although the HHG yield is largely affected by the particular atom used as target, nonlinear parametric XUV amplification is only weakly affected. We conclude that XUV nonlinear parametric attosecond pulse amplification can be most efficiently observed by using atoms with a high ionization potential and that the nonlinear amplification is robust at high photon energies where HHG is not efficient, such as in the water-window spectral region.

Ultra-broadband water window supercontinuum generation with high efficiency in a three-color laser field

We propose an efficient method to generate an ultra-broadband supercontinuum by using a three-color field synthesized by a 1600 nm driving pulse and two weak (3200 nm and 400 nm) control pulses. The results show that the acceleration and ionization steps in the HHG process are simultaneously controlled in our scheme, which can not only broaden the bandwidth but also enhance the harmonic yields of the generated spectrum. Thus a high-efficiency supercontinuum with the photon energies ranging from 205 eV to 480 eV is observed. Based on our 3D propagation simulations, we show that the short quantum path of the supercontinuum is well phase-matched and can be selected under suitable propagation conditions. Thereby, the modulation due to quantum path interference is largely reduced and intense isolated sub-100 as pulses with tunable central wavelengths are directly obtained within water window spectral region.

Dramatic cutoff extension and broadband supercontinuum generation in multi-cycle two color pulses

We propose a method to markedly increase the electron-recollision kinetic energy, using the combination of a 0.8 μm/13 fs driving pulse with a much weaker multi-cycle mid-infrared pulse at 10.4 μm. The results show that the synthesized field effectively lengthens the accelerated distance of electron wave packet and the harmonic cutoff is significantly extended to IP+26UP, which is covered with the water-window spectral region. In addition, only one single quantum path contributes to harmonics, and those higher than IP+15UP become continuous. This supercontinuum can support the generation of an isolated sub-100 as pulse with tunable central wavelength and also the pulse with the duration below one atomic unit of time (24 as). Moreover, our scheme can further extend to more longer driving pulses, which provides a dramatic approach for cutoff extension and broadband supercontinuum generation with multi-cycle pump pulses.

Enhanced soft X-ray emission from carbon nanofibers irradiated with ultra-short laser pulses

A comparative experimental study of the X-ray emission in the water-window spectral region has been performed using carbon nanofibers (CNFs) of different sizes and graphite plate targets, irradiated with ultra-short (Ti:sapphire) laser pulses. More than an order of magnitude enhancement in the X-ray yield is observed from CNFs of 60-nm diameter with respect to graphite targets. The X-ray emission from CNFs of 160-nm diameter was also high. The integrated X-ray yield of these carbon-based targets scales with the laser intensity (IL) as \(I_{\mathrm{L}}^{\sim 1.3-1.4}\) in the intensity range of 4×1016–4×1017 W/cm2. The effect of the laser pulse duration on the X-ray emission from the CNFs was also studied by varying the pulse duration from 45 fs up to 3 ps at a constant fluence of 2×104 J/cm2. The optimum laser pulse duration for maximum X-ray emission increases with the diameter of the CNFs used. The results are explained from physical considerations of heating and hydrodynamic expansion of the CNF plasma in which resonance field enhancement takes place while passing through two times the critical density. The results add to the efforts towards achieving an efficient low-cost water-window X-ray source for microscopy.

Bright, Coherent, Ultrafast Soft X-Ray Harmonics Spanning the Water Window from a Tabletop Light Source

We demonstrate fully phase-matched high harmonic emission spanning the water window spectral region important for nano- and bioimaging and a breadth of materials and molecular dynamics studies. We also generate the broadest bright coherent bandwidth (≈300 eV) to date from any light source, small or large, that is consistent with a single subfemtosecond burst. The harmonic photon flux at 0.5 keV is 10³ higher than demonstrated previously. This work extends bright, spatially coherent, attosecond pulses into the soft x-ray region for the first time.

Generation of an isolated sub-100 attosecond pulse in the water-window spectral region

We propose a scheme to generate isolated attosecond pulses in the water-window spectral region. Based on the numerical solutions of the single active electron model, we investigate high-order harmonic generation in helium atoms driven by a multi-cycle two-colour optical field synthesized by an intense 2000 nm, 20 fs pulse and its frequency-doubled pulse. When the latter is slightly detuned and properly phase shifted with respect to the fundamental laser pulse, an ultra-broad extreme ultraviolet supercontinuum with a spectral width of 130 eV can be generated in the 270–400 eV spectral regions. A supercontinuum from 280–340 eV in the water window can be selected to yield an isolated 67 attosecond pulse without employing any phase compensation. This water window coherent x-ray pulse with less than 100 attosecond duration is a potential tool for studying the ultrafast electronic dynamics of biological samples in water.

Narrow band X-ray emission in the water-window spectral region from a laser heated gold copper mix-Z plasma

A laser plasma X-ray source of narrow spectral range in the water-window region, is reported using a 50–50 (atomic fraction) mixture of gold-copper mix-Z planar target. Plasma was produced using the second harmonic beam of an Nd:glass laser focused to an intensity ∼1013 W/cm2 on the target. The spectrum of the plasma radiation transmitted through a free-standing 0.4 μm aluminium/0.9 μm vanadium X-ray filter foil was measured to lie in the narrow-band of 24–26 A. This provides a debris-free X-ray dose of 2–3 mJ/sr which can be used for single shot X-ray imaging of live biological samples.

Optimization of soft x-ray line emission from laser-produced carbon plasma with laser intensity

Absolute measurement for He-α resonance (1s2 1S0−1s2p1 P 1, at 40.2 A) line emission from a laser-produced carbon plasma has been studied as a function of laser intensity. The optimum laser intensity is found to be ≈1.3×1012 W/cm2 for the maximum emission of 3.2 × 1013 photons sr−1 pulse−1. Since this line lies in the water window spectral region, it has potential application in x-ray microscopic imaging of biological sample in wet condition. Theoretical calculation using corona model for the emission of this line is also carried out with appropriate ionization and radiative recombination rate coefficients

High-brightness, narrowband, and compact soft x-ray Cherenkov sources in the water window

Narrowband, soft x-ray Cherenkov radiation at energies of 453 and 512 eV has been generated by 10 MeV electrons in, respectively, titanium and vanadium foils. The measured spectral and angular distribution of the radiation, and the measured total yield (≈10−4 photon per electron) are in agreement with theoretical predictions based on refractive index data. We show that the brightness that can be achieved using a small electron accelerator is sufficient for practical x-ray microscopy in the water-window spectral region.

Absolute spectral distribution of soft X-ray emission from laser produced gold plasma

Quantitative measurement of spectral distribution of soft X-ray emission from laser produced plasmas and estimation of X-ray conversion efficiency are reported. The X-ray emission from planar gold target irradiated by an Nd:glass laser was recorded using a high resolution transmission grating spectrograph. Spectral distribution of X-ray intensity was derived using calibrated film data and a deconvolution procedure to account for contribution of higher diffraction orders. Results of conversion efficiency per unit solid angle, at a laser intensity of /spl sim/4/spl times/10/sup 12/ W/cm/sup 2/ (/spl lambda//sub L/ = 1.054 /spl mu/m), for 10< /spl lambda/ <80 /spl Aring/ and in the water window spectral region (23< /spl lambda/< 44 /spl Aring/) are presented. A three-fold increase in conversion efficiency was observed for second harmonic laser irradiation (/spl lambda//sub L/ = 0.527 /spl mu/m) at an intensity of 8/spl times/10/sup 12/ W/cm/sup 2/.

Spatial coherence measurements and x-ray holographic imaging using a laser-generated plasma x-ray source in the water window spectral region

The properties of a coherent x-ray point source in the water window spectral region generated using a small commercially available KrF laser system focused onto a Mylar (essentially carbon) target have been measured. By operating the source in a low-pressure (approximately 20 Torr) nitrogen environment, the degree of monochromaticity was improved due to the nitrogen acting as an x-ray filter and relatively enhancing the radiation at a wavelength of 3.37 nm (C vi 1s-2p). X-ray pinhole camera images show a minimum source size of 12 μm. A Young’s double slit coherence measurement gave fringe visibilities of approximately 62% for a slit separation of 10.5 μm at a distance of 31.7 cm from the source. To demonstrate the viability of the laser plasma as a source for coherent imaging applications a Gabor (in-line) hologram of two carbon fibers, of different sizes, was produced. The exposure time and the repetition rate was 2 min and 10 Hz, respectively.

Spatial coherence of a repetitive laser-plasma point x-ray source in the water window spectral region

We propose and demonstrate a coherent laser-plasma point x-ray source in the water window spectral region operating at a repetition rate of up to 100 Hz. The emission from the 10-μm-diameter source is filtered to generate monochromatic radiation at a 3.37 nm wavelength. Soft x-ray fringes of the Young’s interference experiment were obtained with a visibility of 0.62±0.1 with a slit pair of 10.5 μm separation at a distance of 31.7 cm from the source. The source can be used to take either a hologram or transmission scanning x-ray micrograph within a reasonable exposure time of several minutes.

‘‘Water window’’ x-ray source produced by a slab glass laser

X-ray emission in the water window spectral region (2.3–4.4 nm) from materials (carbon, aluminum, titanium, copper, and molybdenum) irradiated by a 5 J/35 ns slab glass laser was recorded with a grazing-incidence spectrometer for microscopy application. Carbon was determined to be the suitable source material for an x-ray microscopy experiment. The absolute spectral brightness of the CVI 1s-2p line and CV 1s2-1s2p line emitted from the carbon plasmas was estimated to be ∼1.0×1016 photons/s/mm2/mrad2 in 0.1% bandwidth. The electron density and electron temperature of the carbon plasmas were derived from the x-ray spectra and the conditions for intense emission are also discussed.