Single-grating monochromator for extreme-ultraviolet ultrashort pulses

Extreme-ultraviolet high-order-harmonic pulses with 1.6.10(7) photons/pulse at 32.5eV have been separated from multiple harmonic orders by a time-preserving monochromator using a single grating in the off-plane mount. This grating geometry gives minimum temporal broadening and high efficiency. The pulse duration of the monochromatized harmonic pulses has been measured to be in the range 20 to 30 fs when the harmonic process is driven by an intense 30 fs near-infrared pulse. The harmonic photon energy is tunable between 12 and 120 eV. The instrument is used in the monochromatized branch of the Artemis beamline at the Central Laser Facility (UK) for applications in ultrafast electron spectroscopy. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America