Extreme ultraviolet vector beams driven by infrared lasers

Abstract

Vector beams, beams with a non-uniform state of polarization, have become an indispensable tool in many areas of science and technology. Harnessing topological light properties paves the way to control and manipulate light-matter interactions at different levels, from the quantum to macroscopic physics. Here we generate tabletop extreme ultraviolet (EUV) vector beams driven by high-order harmonic generation (HHG). Our experimental and theoretical results demonstrate that HHG imprints the polarization state of the fundamental (infrared) beam, ranging from radial to azimuthal, into the higher frequency radiation. Our numerical simulations also demonstrate that the generated high-order harmonic beams can be synthesized into attosecond vector beams in the EUV/soft x-ray regime. Our proposal overcomes the stateof-the-art-limitations for the generation of vector beams far from the visible domain and could be applied in fields such as diffractive imaging, EUV lithography, or ultrafast control of magnetic properties.

Ultralow-loss geometric phase and polarization shaping by ultrafast laser writing in silica glass

“…On the other hand, azimuthal vector beams can induce longitudinal magnetic fields with potential applications in spectroscopy and microscopy 14 . In addition, vector beams have other interesting applications in fundamental science [15][16][17] .…”

Measurement of Ultrashort Vector Pulses From Polarization Gates by In-Line, Single-Channel Spectral Interferometry

“…Advances on laser technology are enabling the generation and use of pulses of light more and more complex, both on time (e.g., single-cycle pulses) and singular spatial distributions (e.g., ultrashort pulsed vortex, Bessel beams, etc.). In addition, there is a raising interest on ultrashort pulses exhibiting time-varying polarization (vector pulses) [1][2][3][4]. The use and analysis of vector pulses is a useful tool in the study of quantum wells properties [5], vector coherent control for selective isomerization of enantiomers [6][7][8][9] and the generation of THz pulses with time evolving polarization from IR vector pulses [7], to mention some examples.…”

Generation and Applications of Extreme-Ultraviolet Vortices

“…A recent work has proven that fractional OAM harmonics can be generated through HHG in an scheme where OAM and SAM are conserved separately [111]. On the other hand, vector beams, i.e., beams with varying spatial polarization [112], are nowadays produced in the XUV regime [113] and they could be used to trigger SAM-OAM interaction in harmonic generation schemes. Whether OAM and SAM are exchanged in the HHG process remains unobserved.…”