Table-top interferometry on extreme time and wavelength scales

Short-pulse metrology and dynamic studies in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) spectral range greatly benefit from interferometric measurements. In this contribution a Michelson-type all-reflective split-and-delay autocorrelator operating in a quasi amplitude splitting mode is presented. The autocorrelator works under a grazing incidence angle in a broad spectral range (10 nm - 1 mu m) providing collinear propagation of both pulse replicas and thus a constant phase difference across the beam profile. The compact instrument allows for XUV pulse autocorrelation measurements in the time domain with a single-digit attosecond precision and a useful scan length of about 1 ps enabling a decent resolution of E/Delta E = 2000 at 26.6 eV. Its performance for selected spectroscopic applications requiring moderate resolution at short wavelengths is demonstrated by characterizing a sharp electronic transition at 26.6 eV in Ar gas. The absorption of the 11th harmonic of a frequency-doubled Yb-fiber laser leads to the well-known 3s3p64p1P1 Fano resonance of Ar atoms. We benchmark our time-domain interferometry results with a high-resolution XUV grating spectrometer and find an excellent agreement. The common-path interferometer opens up new opportunities for short-wavelength femtosecond and attosecond pulse metrology and dynamic studies on extreme time scales in various research fields.

Automated summary

This contribution presents a high-precision XUV pulse autocorrelator for short-pulse metrology and dynamic studies, demonstrating its performance in characterizing electronic transitions in argon gas. The results are compared with a high-resolution XUV grating spectrometer, showing excellent agreement and opening up new opportunities for femtosecond and attosecond pulse metrology and dynamic studies in various research fields.