24 research outputs found

    X-ray phase contrast imaging of biological specimens with tabletop synchrotron radiation

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    Since their discovery in 1896, x-rays have had a profound impact on science, medicine and technology. Here we show that the x-rays from a novel tabletop source of bright coherent synchrotron radiation can be applied to phase contrast imaging of biological specimens, yielding superior image quality and avoiding the need for scarce or expensive conventional sources

    Ultraviolet surprise: Efficient soft x-ray high-harmonic generation in multiply ionized plasmas

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    High-harmonic generation is a universal response of matter to strong femtosecond laser fields, coherently upconverting light to much shorter wavelengths. Optimizing the conversion of laser light into soft x-rays typically demands a trade-off between two competing factors. Because of reduced quantum diffusion of the radiating electron wave function, the emission from each species is highest when a short-wavelength ultraviolet driving laser is used. However, phase matching—the constructive addition of x-ray waves from a large number of atoms—favors longer-wavelength mid-infrared lasers.We identified a regime of high-harmonic generation driven by 40-cycle ultraviolet lasers in waveguides that can generate bright beams in the soft x-ray region of the spectrum, up to photon energies of 280 electron volts. Surprisingly, the high ultraviolet refractive indices of both neutral atoms and ions enabled effective phase matching, even in a multiply ionized plasma.We observed harmonics with very narrow linewidths, while calculations show that the x-rays emerge as nearly time-bandwidth–limited pulse trains of ~100 attoseconds.The experimental work was done at JILA, supported by Army Research Office grant WN11NF-13-1-0259, an NSF PFI AIR award, and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant DE-SC0008803 (M.M.M., T.P., and H.C.K.). Theory was supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007–2013) under REA grant agreement 328334 (C.H.-G.); Junta de Castilla y León (SA116U13, UIC016) and MINECO (FIS2013-44174-P) (C.H.-G. and L.P.); NSF grants PHY-1125844 and PHY-1068706 and AFOSR MURI “Mathematical Modeling and Experimental Validation of Ultrafast Light-Matter Coupling associated with Filamentation in Transparent Media” grant FA9550-10-1-0561 (A.J.-B., R.J.L., X.G., A.L.G., M.M.M., and H.C.K.); Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan, grant 102-2112-M-007-025-MY3 (M.-C.C.); U.S. Department of Energy, Division of Chemical Sciences, Atomic, Molecular and Optical Sciences Program (A.B.); and DOE Office of Fusion Energy, HED Laboratory Plasmas program, grant AT5015033 (S.B.L., M.F., and J.A.G.). Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is operated by Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC for DOE, National Nuclear Security Administration, under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, LLNL-JRNL-676693. T.P., D.P., M.M.M., and H.C.K. have filed a patent on “Generation of VUV, EUV, X-ray Light Using VUV-UV-VIS Lasers,” U.S. patent application 61873794 (2013)/US 20150063385 (2015)

    Non-collinear generation of angularly isolated circularly polarized high harmonics

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    We generate angularly isolated beams of circularly polarized extreme ultraviolet light through the first implementation of non-collinear high harmonic generation with circularly polarized driving lasers. This non-collinear technique offers numerous advantages over previous methods, including the generation of higher photon energies, the separation of the harmonics from the pump beam, the production of both left and right circularly polarized harmonics at the same wavelength and the capability of separating the harmonics without using a spectrometer. To confirm the circular polarization of the beams and to demonstrate the practicality of this new light source, we measure the magnetic circular dichroism of a 20 nm iron film. Furthermore, we explain the mechanisms of non-collinear high harmonic generation using analytical descriptions in both the photon and wave models. Advanced numerical simulations indicate that this non-collinear mixing enables the generation of isolated attosecond pulses with circular polarization.This work was completed at JILA. D.H., J.E., T.F., K.D., H.C. and M.M. acknowledge support from the Department of Energy BES Award DE-FG02-99ER14982. M.M., H.K. and C.D. acknowledge support from the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Centre in Extreme Ultraviolet Science and Technology. C.D. acknowledges support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under MURI grant FA9550-10-1-0561. J.E. acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (DGE-1144083). C.H.-G. acknowledges support from a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship within the EU Seventh Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007–2013), under REA grant agreement no. 328334. C. H.-G. acknowledges support from Junta de Castilla y León (Project SA116U13) and MINECO (FIS2013-44174-P). A.J.-B. was supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (grants nos. PHY-1125844 and PHY-1068706). This work made use of the Janus supercomputer, which is supported by the National Science Foundation (award no. CNS-0821794) and the University of Colorado, Boulder. P.G. acknowledges support from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant no. GR 4234/1–1). R.K. acknowledges the Swedish Research Council (VR) for financial support. A.B. acknowledges support from the Department of Energy, Office of Basic Sciences

    Materials Properties and Solvated Electron Dynamics of Isolated Nanoparticles and Nanodroplets Probed with Ultrafast Extreme Ultraviolet Beams

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    We present ultrafast photoemission measurements of isolated nanoparticles in vacuum using extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light produced through high harmonic generation. Surface-selective static EUV photoemission measurements were performed on nanoparticles with a wide array of compositions, ranging from ionic crystals to nanodroplets of organic material. We find that the total photoelectron yield varies greatly with nanoparticle composition and provides insight into material properties such as the electron mean free path and effective mass. Additionally, we conduct time-resolved photoelectron yield measurements of isolated oleylamine nanodroplets, observing that EUV photons can create solvated electrons in liquid nanodroplets. Using photoemission from a time-delayed 790 nm pulse, we observe that a solvated electron is produced in an excited state and subsequently relaxes to its ground state with a lifetime of 151 ± 31 fs. This work demonstrates that femotosecond EUV photoemission is a versatile surface-sensitive probe of the properties and ultrafast dynamics of isolated nanoparticles
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