Metrologies for the phase characterization of attosecond extreme ultraviolet optics

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) optics play a key role in attosecond science since only with higher photon energies is it possible to achieve the wide spectral bandwidth required for ultrashort pulses. Multilayer EUV mirrors have been proposed and are being developed to temporally shape (compress) attosecond pulses. To fully characterize a multilayer optic for pulse applications requires not only knowledge of the reflectivity, as a function of photon energy, but also the reflected phase of the mirror. We develop the metrologies to determine the reflected phase of an EUV multilayer mirror using the photoelectric effect. The proposed method allows one to determine the optic's impulse response and hence its pulse characteristics. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.