1
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Trines R, Schmitz H, King M, McKenna P, Bingham R. Laser harmonic generation with independent control of frequency and orbital angular momentum. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6878. [PMID: 39128934 PMCID: PMC11317519 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-51311-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2024] [Accepted: 07/26/2024] [Indexed: 08/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The non-linear optical process of laser harmonic generation (HG) enables the creation of high quality pulses of UV or even X-ray radiation, which have many potential uses at the frontiers of experimental science, ranging from lensless microscopy to ultrafast metrology and chiral science. Although many of the promising applications are enabled by generating harmonic modes with orbital angular momentum (OAM), independent control of the harmonic frequency and OAM level remains elusive. Here we show, through a theoretical approach, validated with 3D simulations, how unique 2-D harmonic progressions can be obtained, with both frequency and OAM level tuned independently, from tailored structured targets in both reflective and transmissive configurations. Through preferential selection of a subset of harmonic modes with a specific OAM value, a controlled frequency comb of circularly polarised harmonics can be produced. Our approach to describe HG, which simplifies both the theoretical predictions and the analysis of the harmonic spectrum, is directly applicable across the full range of HG mechanisms and can be readily applied to investigations of OAM harmonics in other processes, such as OAM cascades in Raman amplification, or the analysis of harmonic progressions in nonlinear optics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raoul Trines
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom.
| | - Holger Schmitz
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
| | - Martin King
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, United Kingdom
- The Cockcroft Institute, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Warrington, WA4 4AD, United Kingdom
| | - Paul McKenna
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, United Kingdom
- The Cockcroft Institute, Sci-Tech Daresbury, Warrington, WA4 4AD, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Bingham
- Central Laser Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, OX11 0QX, United Kingdom
- Department of Physics, SUPA, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G4 0NG, United Kingdom
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2
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Nagai K, Okamoto T, Shinohara Y, Sanada H, Oguri K. High-harmonic spin-orbit angular momentum generation in crystalline solids preserving multiscale dynamical symmetry. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eado7315. [PMID: 39093966 PMCID: PMC11296342 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado7315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/04/2024]
Abstract
Symmetries essentially provide conservation rules in nonlinear light-matter interactions and facilitate control and understanding of photon conversion processes or electron dynamics. Since anisotropic solids have rich symmetries, they are strong candidates for controlling both optical micro- and macroscale structures, namely, spin angular momentum (circular polarization) and orbital angular momentum (spiral wavefront), respectively. Here, we show structured high-harmonic generation linked to the anisotropic symmetry of a solid. By strategically preserving a dynamical symmetry arising from the spin-orbit interaction of light, we generate multiple orbital angular momentum states in high-order harmonics. The experimental results exhibit the total angular momentum conservation rule of light even in the extreme nonlinear region, which is evidence that the mechanism originates from a dynamical symmetry. Our study provides a deeper understanding of multiscale nonlinear optical phenomena and a general guideline for using electronic structures to control structured light, such as through Floquet engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kohei Nagai
- NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
| | - Takuya Okamoto
- NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
| | - Yasushi Shinohara
- NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
- NTT Research Center for Theoretical Quantum Information, NTT Corporation, 3-1 Morinosato Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
| | - Haruki Sanada
- NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
| | - Katsuya Oguri
- NTT Basic Research Laboratories, NTT Corporation, 3-1, Morinosato-Wakamiya, Atsugi, Kanagawa 243-0198, Japan
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3
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McCarter MR, De Long LE, Todd Hastings J, Roy S. Generation and applications of x-ray and extreme ultraviolet beams carrying orbital angular momentum. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2024; 36:423003. [PMID: 38830374 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/ad53b3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
In addition to spin angular momentum, light can carry orbital angular momentum. The orbital angular momentum degree of freedom in the extreme ultraviolet and x-ray regimes enables fundamental studies of light-matter interactions and new methods to study materials. Advances in x-ray optics, as well as undulator radiation and high harmonic generation techniques, lead to the creation of beams with non-trivial phase structure, such as a helical phase structure, creating new possibilities for the use of extreme ultraviolet and x-ray photons with orbital angular momentum in probing complex electronic structures in matter. In this article, we review the generation and applications of orbital angular momentum beams in the x-ray and extreme ultraviolet regime. We discuss several recent works that exploit the orbital angular momentum degree of freedom and showcase the potential advantages of using these beams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret R McCarter
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
| | - Lance E De Long
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, United States of America
| | - J Todd Hastings
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, United States of America
| | - Sujoy Roy
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
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4
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Neufeld O, Tancogne-Dejean N, Rubio A. Benchmarking Functionals for Strong-Field Light-Matter Interactions in Adiabatic Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory. J Phys Chem Lett 2024; 15:7254-7264. [PMID: 38976844 PMCID: PMC11261632 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.4c01383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2024] [Revised: 06/29/2024] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) has been extensively employed for highly nonlinear optics in molecules and solids, including high harmonic generation (HHG), photoemission, and more. TDDFT exhibits a relatively low numerical cost while still describing both light-matter and electron-electron interactions ab initio, making it highly appealing. However, the majority of implementations of the theory utilize the simplest possible approximations for the exchange-correlation (XC) functional-either the local density or generalized gradient approximations, which are traditionally considered to have rather poor chemical accuracy. We present the first systematic study of the XC functional effect on molecular HHG, testing various levels of theory. Our numerical results suggest justification for using simpler approximations for the XC functional, showing that hybrid and meta functionals (as well as Hartree-Fock) can, at times, lead to poor and unphysical results. The specific source of the failure in more elaborate functionals should be topic of future work, but we hypothesize that its origin might be connected to the adiabatic approximation of TDDFT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ofer Neufeld
- Max
Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter and Center
for Free-Electron Laser Science, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Nicolas Tancogne-Dejean
- Max
Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter and Center
for Free-Electron Laser Science, Hamburg 22761, Germany
| | - Angel Rubio
- Max
Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter and Center
for Free-Electron Laser Science, Hamburg 22761, Germany
- Center
for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ), The Flatiron Institute, New York, New York 10010, United States
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5
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Raab AK, Schmoll M, Simpson ER, Redon M, Fang Y, Guo C, Viotti AL, Arnold CL, L'Huillier A, Mauritsson J. Highly versatile, two-color setup for high-order harmonic generation using spatial light modulators. THE REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 2024; 95:073002. [PMID: 39012177 DOI: 10.1063/5.0212578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/17/2024]
Abstract
We present a novel, interferometric, two-color, high-order harmonic generation setup based on a turn-key Ytterbium-doped femtosecond laser source and its second harmonic. Each interferometer arm contains a spatial light modulator with individual capabilities to manipulate the spatial beam profiles and to stabilize the relative delay between the fundamental and the second harmonic. In addition, separate control of the relative power and focusing geometries of the two color beams is implemented to conveniently perform automated scans of multiple parameters. A live diagnostics system gives continuous information during ongoing measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- A-K Raab
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - M Schmoll
- Physikalisches Institut, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Hermann-Herder-Straße 3, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - E R Simpson
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - M Redon
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Y Fang
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - C Guo
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - A-L Viotti
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - C L Arnold
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - A L'Huillier
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - J Mauritsson
- Department of Physics, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
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6
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Shen Y, Papasimakis N, Zheludev NI. Nondiffracting supertoroidal pulses and optical "Kármán vortex streets". Nat Commun 2024; 15:4863. [PMID: 38849349 PMCID: PMC11161654 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48927-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 05/16/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Supertoroidal light pulses, as space-time nonseparable electromagnetic waves, exhibit unique topological properties including skyrmionic configurations, fractal-like singularities, and energy backflow in free space, which however do not survive upon propagation. Here, we introduce the non-diffracting supertoroidal pulses (NDSTPs) with propagation-robust skyrmionic and vortex field configurations that persists over arbitrary propagation distances. Intriguingly, the field structure of NDSTPs has a similarity with the von Kármán vortex street, a pattern of swirling vortices in fluid and gas dynamics with staggered singularities that can stably propagate forward. NDSTPs will be of interest as directed channels for information and energy transfer applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijie Shen
- Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637378, Singapore.
- School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore.
| | - Nikitas Papasimakis
- Optoelectronics Research Centre & Centre for Photonic Metamaterials, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Nikolay I Zheludev
- Centre for Disruptive Photonic Technologies, School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences & The Photonics Institute, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637378, Singapore
- Optoelectronics Research Centre & Centre for Photonic Metamaterials, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
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7
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Wu H, Wang T, Hu Y. Chiral nanoparticle separation and discrimination using radially polarized circular Airy vortex beams with orbital-induced spin angular momentum. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2024; 26:8775-8783. [PMID: 38420742 DOI: 10.1039/d3cp04473d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
We report orbit-induced localized spin angular momentum associated with optical spin-orbit interactions in tightly focused radially polarized circular Airy vortex beams and demonstrate their potential for separation and discrimination of chiral nanoparticles. We find that variations in spin angular momentum density endow these beams with positive and negative annular optical chirality density. Utilizing these extraordinary distributions, particles having different chirality parameters can be separated and discriminated by using two degrees of freedom, i.e., radial trapping position and azimuthal rotation. We also discuss the impacts of longitudinal optical force and topological charge on manipulating chiral particles. Additionally, we conduct a comparative analysis of the optical trapping of a non-chiral particle. Our work is expected to deepen the understanding of spin-orbit interactions and provide valuable insight into vortex beam interactions with chiral particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wu
- Department of Physics, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, P.R. China.
| | - Tao Wang
- Department of Physics, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu 610068, P.R. China.
| | - Yi Hu
- The MOE Key Laboratory of Weak-Light Nonlinear Photonics, TEDA Applied Physics Institute and School of Physics, Nankai University, Tianjin 300457, P.R. China.
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8
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Gao J, Yang C, Ge X, Zheng Y, Zeng Z, Li R. Phase-matching of high-order harmonic generation in the extreme ultraviolet region with orbital angular momentum. OPTICS EXPRESS 2024; 32:871-878. [PMID: 38175109 DOI: 10.1364/oe.504806] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
High-order harmonics can generate vortex beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) in the extreme ultraviolet region. However, experimental research on their phase-matching (PM) characteristics is limited. In this study, vortex high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in the extreme ultraviolet region was generated with Ar gas. Phase-matched HHG with OAM was obtained by optimizing the focus position, laser energy, and gas pressure. The dependence of the PM characteristics on these parameters was analyzed. In addition, we conducted an experimental analysis of the dimensional properties of vortex harmonics under PM conditions. This study is a contribution towards the intense vortex high-order harmonic light sources and their applications.
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9
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Lin YC, Midorikawa K, Nabekawa Y. Wavefront control of subcycle vortex pulses via carrier-envelope-phase tailoring. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2023; 12:279. [PMID: 37996468 PMCID: PMC10667496 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-023-01328-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023]
Abstract
The carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of an ultrashort laser pulse is becoming more crucial to specify the temporal characteristic of the pulse's electric field when the pulse duration becomes shorter and attains the subcycle regime; here, the pulse duration of the intensity envelope is shorter than one cycle period of the carrier field oscillation. When this subcycle pulse involves a structured wavefront as is contained in an optical vortex (OV) pulse, the CEP has an impact on not only the temporal but also the spatial characteristics owing to the spatiotemporal coupling in the structured optical pulse. However, the direct observation of the spatial effect of the CEP control has not yet been demonstrated. In this study, we report on the measurement and control of the spatial wavefront of a subcycle OV pulse by adjusting the CEP. To generate subcycle OV pulses, an optical parametric amplifier delivering subcycle Gaussian pulses and a Sagnac interferometer as a mode converter were integrated and provided an adequate spectral adaptability. The pulse duration of the generated OV pulse was 4.7 fs at a carrier wavelength of 1.54 µm. To confirm the wavefront control with the alteration of the CEP, we developed a novel [Formula: see text]-2[Formula: see text] interferometer that exhibited spiral fringes originating from the spatial interference between the subcycle OV pulse and the second harmonic of the subcycle Gaussian pulse producing a parabolic wavefront as a reference; this resulted in the successful observation of the rotation of spiral interference fringes during CEP manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chieh Lin
- Attosecond Science Research Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan.
| | - Katsumi Midorikawa
- Attosecond Science Research Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
| | - Yasuo Nabekawa
- Attosecond Science Research Team, RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako, Saitama, 351-0198, Japan
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10
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Ghomashi B, Walker S, Becker A. Enabling elliptically polarized high harmonic generation with short cross polarized laser pulses. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12843. [PMID: 37553388 PMCID: PMC10409740 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39814-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Enabling elliptically polarized high-order harmonics overcomes a historical limitation in the generation of this highly nonlinear process in atomic, molecular and optical physics with applications in other branches. Here, we shed new light on a controversy between experimental observations and theoretical predictions on the possibility to generate harmonics with large ellipticity using two bichromatic laser pulses which are linearly polarized in orthogonal directions. Results of numerical calculations confirm the previous experimental data that in short laser pulses even harmonics with large ellipticity can be obtained for the interaction of such cross-polarized laser pulses with atoms initially in a s- or p-state, while odd harmonics have low ellipticity. The amount of the ellipticity can be controlled via the relative carrier-envelope phase of the pulses, their intensity ratio and the duration of the pulses.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Ghomashi
- JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0440, USA.
| | - S Walker
- JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0440, USA
| | - A Becker
- JILA and Department of Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, 80309-0440, USA
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11
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Zhang D, Zhai D, Deng S, Yao W, Zhu Q. Single Photon Emitters with Polarization and Orbital Angular Momentum Locking in Monolayer Semiconductors. NANO LETTERS 2023; 23:3851-3857. [PMID: 37104699 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c00459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Excitons in monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide are endowed with intrinsic valley-orbit coupling between their center-of-mass motion and valley pseudospin. When trapped in a confinement potential, e.g., generated by strain field, we find that intralayer excitons are valley and orbital angular momentum (OAM) entangled. By tuning the trap profile and external magnetic field, one can engineer the exciton states at the ground state and realize a series of valley-OAM entangled states. We further show that the OAM of excitons can be transferred to emitted photons, and these novel exciton states can naturally serve as polarization-OAM locked single photon emitters, which under certain circumstance become polarization-OAM entangled, highly tunable by strain trap and magnetic field. Our proposal demonstrates a novel scheme to generate polarization-OAM locked/entangled photons at the nanoscale with a high degree of integrability and tunability, pointing to exciting opportunities for quantum information applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Di Zhang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Dawei Zhai
- Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- HKU-UCAS Joint Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics at Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Sha Deng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
| | - Wang Yao
- Department of Physics, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
- HKU-UCAS Joint Institute of Theoretical and Computational Physics at Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
| | - Qizhong Zhu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Quantum Engineering and Quantum Materials, School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
- Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory of Quantum Matter, Frontier Research Institute for Physics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China
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12
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Lerner G, Neufeld O, Hareli L, Shoulga G, Bordo E, Fleischer A, Podolsky D, Bahabad A, Cohen O. Multiscale dynamical symmetries and selection rules in nonlinear optics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eade0953. [PMID: 37058566 PMCID: PMC10104467 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ade0953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Symmetries and their associated selection rules are extremely useful in many fields of science. For systems of electromagnetic (EM) fields interacting with matter, the symmetries of matter and the EM fields' time-dependent polarization determine the properties of the nonlinear responses, and they can be facilitated for controlling light emission and enabling ultrafast symmetry breaking spectroscopy of various properties. Here, we formulate a general theory that describes the macroscopic and microscopic dynamical symmetries (including quasicrystal-like symmetries) of EM vector fields, revealing many previously unidentified symmetries and selection rules in light-matter interactions. We demonstrate an example of multiscale selection rules experimentally in the framework of high harmonic generation. This work paves the way for novel spectroscopic techniques in multiscale systems and for imprinting complex structures in extreme ultraviolet-x-ray beams, attosecond pulses, or the interacting medium itself.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gavriel Lerner
- Physics Department, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Solid State Institute, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ofer Neufeld
- Physics Department, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Solid State Institute, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Liran Hareli
- Department of Physical Electronics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Georgiy Shoulga
- Department of Physical Electronics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Eliayu Bordo
- Physics Department, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Solid State Institute, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Avner Fleischer
- Chemistry Department, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Science, School of Chemistry and Center for Light-Matter Interaction, Tel Aviv University, 6997801 Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Daniel Podolsky
- Physics Department, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Alon Bahabad
- Department of Physical Electronics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Oren Cohen
- Physics Department, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
- Solid State Institute, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
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13
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Luttmann M, Vimal M, Guer M, Hergott JF, Khoury AZ, Hernández-García C, Pisanty E, Ruchon T. Nonlinear up-conversion of a polarization Möbius strip with half-integer optical angular momentum. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2023; 9:eadf3486. [PMID: 36961899 PMCID: PMC10038335 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adf3486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Symmetries and conservation laws of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum play a central role in nonlinear optics. Recently, paraxial light fields with nontrivial topology have been attracting a keen interest. Despite not being eigenstates of the orbital and spin angular momenta (OAM and SAM), they are eigenstates of the generalized angular momentum (GAM) operator-a mixture of the OAM and SAM operators with fractional eigenvalues. By driving high harmonic generation with a polarization Möbius strip carrying a half-integer GAM charge and implementing angular momentum characterization methods in the extreme ultraviolet range, we demonstrate the linear scaling of the GAM with the harmonic order, each harmonic carrying a precise half-integer GAM charge. Our work shows that beyond SAM and OAM, the GAM is, in some situations, an appropriate quantum number. It paves the way for finer manipulations and applications of light beams containing fractional-order polarization singularities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Luttmann
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
| | - Mekha Vimal
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
| | - Matthieu Guer
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | | | - Antonio Z. Khoury
- Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, RJ 24210-346, Brazil
| | - Carlos Hernández-García
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | - Emilio Pisanty
- Department of Physics, King’s College London, Strand Campus, London WC2R 2LS, UK
| | - Thierry Ruchon
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, Gif-sur-Yvette 91191, France
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14
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Gui G, Brooks NJ, Wang B, Kapteyn HC, Murnane MM, Liao CT. Single-Frame Characterization of Ultrafast Pulses with Spatiotemporal Orbital Angular Momentum. ACS PHOTONICS 2022; 9:2802-2808. [PMID: 35996367 PMCID: PMC9389650 DOI: 10.1021/acsphotonics.2c00626] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Light that carries spatiotemporal orbital angular momentum (ST-OAM) makes possible new types of optical vortices arising from transverse OAM. ST-OAM pulses exhibit novel properties during propagation, transmission, refraction, diffraction, and nonlinear conversion, attracting growing experimental and theoretical interest and studies. However, one major challenge is the lack of a simple and straightforward method for characterizing ultrafast ST-OAM pulses. Using spatially resolved spectral interferometry, we demonstrate a simple, stationary, single-frame method to quantitatively characterize ultrashort light pulses carrying ST-OAM. Using our method, the presence of an ST-OAM pulse, including its main characteristics such as topological charge numbers and OAM helicity, can be identified easily from the unique and unambiguous features directly seen on the raw data-without any need for a full analysis of the data. After processing and reconstructions, other exquisite features, including pulse dispersion and beam divergence, can also be fully characterized. Our fast characterization method allows high-throughput and quick feedback during the generation and optical alignment processes of ST-OAM pulses. It is straightforward to extend our method to single-shot measurement by using a high-speed camera that matches the pulse repetition rate. This new method can help advance the field of spatially and temporally structured light and its applications in advanced metrologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guan Gui
- JILA
and Department of Physics, University of
Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Nathan J. Brooks
- JILA
and Department of Physics, University of
Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Bin Wang
- JILA
and Department of Physics, University of
Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Henry C. Kapteyn
- JILA
and Department of Physics, University of
Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- KMLabs
Inc., 4775 Walnut Street, Suite 102, Boulder, Colorado 80301, United States
| | - Margaret M. Murnane
- JILA
and Department of Physics, University of
Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
| | - Chen-Ting Liao
- JILA
and Department of Physics, University of
Colorado and NIST, 440 UCB, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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15
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Silva REF, Ivanov M, Jiménez-Galán Á. All-optical valley switch and clock of electronic dephasing. OPTICS EXPRESS 2022; 30:30347-30355. [PMID: 36242140 DOI: 10.1364/oe.460291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
2D materials with broken inversion symmetry posses an extra degree of freedom, the valley pseudospin, that labels in which of the two energy-degenerate crystal momenta, K or K', the conducting carriers are located. It has been shown that shining circularly-polarized light allows to achieve close to 100% of valley polarization, opening the way to valley-based transistors. Yet, switching of the valley polarization is still a key challenge for the practical implementation of such devices due to the short valley lifetimes. Recent progress in ultrashort laser technology now allows to produce trains of attosecond pulses with controlled phase and polarization between the pulses. Taking advantage of such technology, we introduce a coherent control protocol to turn on, off and switch the valley polarization at faster timescales than electron-hole decoherence and valley depolarization, that is, an ultrafast optical valley switch. We theoretically demonstrate the protocol for hBN and MoS2 monolayers calculated from first principles. Additionally, using two time-delayed linearly-polarized pulses with perpendicular polarization, we show that we can extract the electronic dephasing time T2 from the valley Hall conductivity.
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16
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Morgan J, McNeil BWJ. X-ray pulse generation with ultra-fast flipping of its orbital angular momentum. OPTICS EXPRESS 2022; 30:31171-31181. [PMID: 36242205 DOI: 10.1364/oe.470503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
A method to temporally tailor the properties of X-ray radiation carrying Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) is presented. In simulations, an electron beam is prepared with a temporally modulated micro-bunching structure which, when radiating at the second harmonic in a helical undulator, generates OAM light with a corresponding temporally modulated intensity. This method is shown to generate attosecond pulse trains of OAM light without the need for any additional external optics, making the wavelength range tunable. In addition to the OAM pulse train, the method can be adapted to generate radiation where the handedness of the OAM mode may also be temporally modulated (flipped).
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17
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Jacobs MN, Esashi Y, Jenkins NW, Brooks NJ, Kapteyn HC, Murnane MM, Tanksalvala M. High-resolution, wavefront-sensing, full-field polarimetry of arbitrary beams using phase retrieval. OPTICS EXPRESS 2022; 30:27967-27982. [PMID: 36236954 DOI: 10.1364/oe.461658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in structured illumination are enabling a wide range of applications from imaging to metrology, which can benefit from advanced beam characterization techniques. Solving uniquely for the spatial distribution of polarization in a beam typically involves the use of two or more polarization optics, such as a polarizer and a waveplate, which is prohibitive for some wavelengths outside of the visible spectrum. We demonstrate a technique that circumvents the use of a waveplate by exploiting extended Gerchberg-Saxton phase retrieval to extract the phase. The technique enables high-resolution, wavefront-sensing, full-field polarimetry capable of solving for both simple and exotic polarization states, and moreover, is extensible to shorter wavelength light.
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18
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Zhou Z, Min C, Ma H, Zhang Y, Xie X, Zhan H, Yuan X. Time-varying orbital angular momentum in tight focusing of ultrafast pulses. OPTICS EXPRESS 2022; 30:13416-13433. [PMID: 35472954 DOI: 10.1364/oe.449351] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The orbital angular momentum (OAM) of light has important applications in a variety of fields, including optical communication, quantum information, super-resolution microscopic imaging, particle trapping, and others. However, the temporal properties of OAM in ultrafast pulses and in the evolution process of spin-orbit coupling has yet to be revealed. In this work, we theoretically studied the spatiotemporal property of time-varying OAM in the tightly focused field of ultrafast light pulses. The focusing of an incident light pulse composed of two time-delayed femtosecond sub-pulses with the same OAM but orthogonal spin states is investigated, and the ultrafast dynamicsa time delay of OAM variation during the focusing process driven by the spin-orbit coupling is visualized. Temporal properties of three typical examples, including formation, increase, and transformation of topological charge are investigated to reveal the non-uniform evolutions of phase singularities, local topological charges, self-torques, and time-varying OAM per photon. This work could deepen the understanding of spin-orbit coupling in time domain and promote many promising applications such as ultrafast OAM modulation, laser micromachining, high harmonic generation, and manipulation of molecules and nanostructures.
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19
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Fanciulli M, Pancaldi M, Pedersoli E, Vimal M, Bresteau D, Luttmann M, De Angelis D, Ribič PR, Rösner B, David C, Spezzani C, Manfredda M, Sousa R, Prejbeanu IL, Vila L, Dieny B, De Ninno G, Capotondi F, Sacchi M, Ruchon T. Observation of Magnetic Helicoidal Dichroism with Extreme Ultraviolet Light Vortices. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2022; 128:077401. [PMID: 35244431 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.128.077401] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
We report on the experimental evidence of magnetic helicoidal dichroism, observed in the interaction of an extreme ultraviolet vortex beam carrying orbital angular momentum with a magnetic vortex. Numerical simulations based on classical electromagnetic theory show that this dichroism is based on the interference of light modes with different orbital angular momenta, which are populated after the interaction between light and the magnetic topology. This observation gives insight into the interplay between orbital angular momentum and magnetism and sets the framework for the development of new analytical tools to investigate ultrafast magnetization dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Fanciulli
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Laboratoire de Physique des Matériaux et Surfaces, CY Cergy Paris Université, 95031 Cergy-Pontoise, France
| | - Matteo Pancaldi
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Mekha Vimal
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - David Bresteau
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Martin Luttmann
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Dario De Angelis
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Carlo Spezzani
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Michele Manfredda
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Ricardo Sousa
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG-SPINTEC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Ioan-Lucian Prejbeanu
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG-SPINTEC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Laurent Vila
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG-SPINTEC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Bernard Dieny
- Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, CEA, Grenoble INP, IRIG-SPINTEC, 38000 Grenoble, France
| | - Giovanni De Ninno
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
- Laboratory of Quantum Optics, University of Nova Gorica, 5001 Nova Gorica, Slovenia
| | - Flavio Capotondi
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A., 34149 Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Maurizio Sacchi
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut des NanoSciences de Paris, INSP, 75005 Paris, France
- Synchrotron SOLEIL, L'Orme des Merisiers, Saint-Aubin, B. P. 48, 91192 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Thierry Ruchon
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, LIDYL, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
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20
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Fang Y, Guo Z, Ge P, Dou Y, Deng Y, Gong Q, Liu Y. Probing the orbital angular momentum of intense vortex pulses with strong-field ionization. LIGHT, SCIENCE & APPLICATIONS 2022; 11:34. [PMID: 35132069 PMCID: PMC8821541 DOI: 10.1038/s41377-022-00726-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 01/24/2022] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid development of femtosecond lasers, the generation and application of optical vortices have been extended to the regime of intense-light-matter interaction. The characterization of the orbital angular momentum (OAM) of intense vortex pulses is very critical. Here, we propose and demonstrate a novel photoelectron-based scheme that can in situ distinguish the OAM of the focused intense femtosecond optical vortices without the modification of light helical phase. We employ two-color co-rotating intense circular fields in the strong-field photoionization experiment, in which one color light field is a plane wave serving as the probing pulses and the other one is the vortex pulses whose OAM needs to be characterized. We show that by controlling the spatial profile of the probing pulses, the OAM of the vortex pulses can be clearly identified by measuring the corresponding photoelectron momentum distributions or angle-resolved yields. This work provides a novel in situ detection scenario for the light pulse vorticity and has implications for the studies of ultrafast and intense complex light fields with optical OAM.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqi Fang
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Zhenning Guo
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Peipei Ge
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yankun Dou
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Yongkai Deng
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
| | - Qihuang Gong
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, China
- Center for Applied Physics and Technology, HEDPS, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China
- Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China
| | - Yunquan Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Frontiers Science Center for Nano-optoelectronics, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi, 030006, China.
- Center for Applied Physics and Technology, HEDPS, Peking University, Beijing, 100871, China.
- Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Beijing, 100193, China.
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21
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Rego L, Brooks NJ, Nguyen QLD, Román JS, Binnie I, Plaja L, Kapteyn HC, Murnane MM, Hernández-García C. Necklace-structured high-harmonic generation for low-divergence, soft x-ray harmonic combs with tunable line spacing. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabj7380. [PMID: 35119926 PMCID: PMC8816339 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj7380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The extreme nonlinear optical process of high-harmonic generation (HHG) makes it possible to map the properties of a laser beam onto a radiating electron wave function and, in turn, onto the emitted x-ray light. Bright HHG beams typically emerge from a longitudinal phased distribution of atomic-scale quantum antennae. Here, we form a transverse necklace-shaped phased array of linearly polarized HHG emitters, where orbital angular momentum conservation allows us to tune the line spacing and divergence properties of extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray high-harmonic combs. The on-axis HHG emission has extremely low divergence, well below that obtained when using Gaussian driving beams, which further decreases with harmonic order. This work provides a new degree of freedom for the design of harmonic combs-particularly in the soft x-ray regime, where very limited options are available. Such harmonic beams can enable more sensitive probes of the fastest correlated charge and spin dynamics in molecules, nanoparticles, and materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Rego
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | - Nathan J. Brooks
- JILA - Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Quynh L. D. Nguyen
- JILA - Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Julio San Román
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | - Iona Binnie
- JILA - Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Luis Plaja
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | - Henry C. Kapteyn
- JILA - Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Margaret M. Murnane
- JILA - Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Carlos Hernández-García
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
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22
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Lin Z, Chen Y, Pu J, Lai X. Enhancing circularly polarized XUV vortices from bicircular Laguerre-Gaussian fields. OPTICS EXPRESS 2022; 30:2636-2645. [PMID: 35209399 DOI: 10.1364/oe.450049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we theoretically study the generation of circularly polarized XUV vortices from high harmonic generation driven by bicircular Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) fields with different frequency ratios, by using the strong-field approximation theory. Our simulation shows that the amplitude of the generated vortices from the ω-3ω bicircular LG field is about one order of magnitude larger than that from the ω-2ω field, irrespective of the harmonic order and the orbital angular momentum of the bicircular driving fields. Our analysis shows that the great increase of the vortex amplitude for the ω-3ω field originates from the harmonic enhancement of a single atom. Furthermore, in terms of quantum-orbit theory, the underlying physics of the harmonic enhancement of the single atom for the ω-3ω field is revealed. Our work provides a simple and robust method to increase the amplitude of the circularly polarized XUV vortices.
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23
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Wu C, Kumar S, Kan Y, Komisar D, Wang Z, Bozhevolnyi SI, Ding F. Room-temperature on-chip orbital angular momentum single-photon sources. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabk3075. [PMID: 35020431 PMCID: PMC8754403 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abk3075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
On-chip photon sources carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) are in demand for high-capacity optical information processing in both classical and quantum regimes. However, currently exploited integrated OAM sources have been primarily limited to the classical regime. Here, we demonstrate a room-temperature on-chip integrated OAM source that emits well-collimated single photons, with a single-photon purity of g(2)(0) ≈ 0.22, carrying entangled spin and OAM states and forming two spatially separated entangled radiation channels with different polarization properties. The OAM-encoded single photons are generated by efficiently outcoupling diverging surface plasmon polaritons excited with a deterministically positioned quantum emitter via Archimedean spiral gratings. Our OAM single-photon source platform bridges the gap between conventional OAM manipulation and nonclassical light sources, enabling high-dimensional and large-scale photonic quantum systems for quantum information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cuo Wu
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
- Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Shailesh Kumar
- Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Yinhui Kan
- Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
- College of Astronautics, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China
| | - Danylo Komisar
- Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Zhiming Wang
- Institute of Fundamental and Frontier Sciences, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China
| | - Sergey I. Bozhevolnyi
- Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
| | - Fei Ding
- Centre for Nano Optics, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, Odense M DK-5230, Denmark
- Corresponding author.
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24
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Hernández-García C. Novel ultrafast structured EUV/x-ray sources from nonlinear optics. EPJ WEB OF CONFERENCES 2022. [DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202226613017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Coherent extreme-ultraviolet (EUV)/x-ray laser sources, structured in their temporal/spectral, spatial and angular momentum properties are emerging as unique tools to probe the nanoworld. One of the key ingredients for the emergence of such sources is the extraordinary coherence in the up-conversion of infrared laser sources through the highly nonlinear process of high-order harmonic generation. In this contribution we will review the advances during the last decade that led to the generation of structured EUV/xray sources, such as circularly polarized attosecond pulses, harmonic vortices with time-varying orbital angular momentum, ultrafast vector and vector/vortex beams, tunable high-order harmonic combs or attosecond pulse trains with time-dependent polarization states. The use of such sources is being already applied to the investigation of chiral matter or magnetic materials. In the latter case, structured ultrafast sources are very promising to achieve a complete understanding of the electronic and spin interactions that govern sub-femtosecond magnetization dynamics.
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25
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Fang Y, Lu S, Liu Y. Controlling Photon Transverse Orbital Angular Momentum in High Harmonic Generation. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 127:273901. [PMID: 35061413 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.127.273901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
High harmonic generation (HHG) with longitudinal optical orbital angular momentum has attracted much attention over the past decade. Here, we present the first study on the HHG with transverse orbital angular momentum driven by the spatiotemporal optical vortex (STOV) pulses. We show that the produced spatial-resolved harmonic spectra reveal unique structures, such as the spatially spectral tilt and the fine interference patterns. We show these spatiospectral structures originate from both the macroscopic and microscopic effect of spatiotemporal optical singularity in HHG. Employing two-color counterspin and countervorticity STOV pulses, we further discuss a robust method to control the spatiotemporal topological charge and spectral structure of high-order harmonics. The conservation rule of photon transverse orbital angular momentum in HHG process is also discussed when mixing with photon spin angular momenta.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiqi Fang
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Shengyue Lu
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
| | - Yunquan Liu
- State Key Laboratory for Mesoscopic Physics and Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- Beijing Academy of Quantum Information Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Extreme Optics, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China
- Peking University Yangtze Delta Institute of Optoelectronics, Nantong, Jiangsu 226010, China
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26
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Ghomashi B, Reiff R, Becker A. Coherence in macroscopic high harmonic generation for spatial focal phase distributions of monochromatic and broadband Gaussian laser pulses. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:40146-40160. [PMID: 34809362 DOI: 10.1364/oe.444317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Efficient application of ultrafast laser sources from high harmonic generation requires an understanding of how the spectrum can be controlled - the extent of the highest harmonics and the strength and cleanness of the harmonic lines. We study one important aspect in the coherent build-up of macroscopic high-order harmonic generation, namely the impact of different phase distributions in the focal area on the features of the generated radiation. Specifically, we compare the high harmonic signals for the commonly-used Gouy distribution of a monochromatic beam with those for the phase distribution of a short broadband Gaussian pulse. To this end, we apply a theoretical model in which the microscopic yields are obtained via interpolation of results of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation, which are then used in an individual-emitter approach to determine the macroscopic signals. Regions of poor and good coherent build-up as a function of the position of the gas jet are identified using measures for the strength of the harmonic lines and for the impact of off-harmonic radiation. While the largest extent of the spectra as well as the strongest contribution of off-harmonic radiation is found for positioning the gas jet after the focus for both distributions, the relative strength of the harmonics is overall weaker for the short Gaussian pulse distribution and the spectra differ for a gas jet positioned at the focus. These differences are mainly caused by the additional dependence of the focal phase in the transverse direction for the short Gaussian pulse distribution.
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27
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Dorney KM, Fan T, Nguyen QLD, Ellis JL, Hickstein DD, Brooks N, Zusin D, Gentry C, Hernández-García C, Kapteyn HC, Murnane MM. Bright, single helicity, high harmonics driven by mid-infrared bicircular laser fields. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:38119-38128. [PMID: 34808871 DOI: 10.1364/oe.440813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
High-harmonic generation (HHG) is a unique tabletop light source with femtosecond-to-attosecond pulse duration and tailorable polarization and beam shape. Here, we use counter-rotating femtosecond laser pulses of 0.8 µm and 2.0 μm to extend the photon energy range of circularly polarized high-harmonics and also generate single-helicity HHG spectra. By driving HHG in helium, we produce circularly polarized soft x-ray harmonics beyond 170 eV-the highest photon energy of circularly polarized HHG achieved to date. In an Ar medium, dense spectra at photon energies well beyond the Cooper minimum are generated, with regions composed of a single helicity-consistent with the generation of a train of circularly polarized attosecond pulses. Finally, we show theoretically that circularly polarized HHG photon energies can extend beyond the carbon K edge, extending the range of molecular and materials systems that can be accessed using dynamic HHG chiral spectro-microscopies.
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28
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Bai X, Su Y, Zhang J. Study on spin angular momentum balance in harmonics generated from counter-rotating two-color laser fields. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:36567-36580. [PMID: 34809065 DOI: 10.1364/oe.439695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 10/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
High-order harmonics generated from Xe driven by counter-rotating two-color driving fields are studied in the frame of a quantum-field scattering theory, and the spin angular momentum transfer is discussed. The driving field is composed by a circularly polarized (CP) mode and an elliptically polarized (EP) mode. We treat the EP mode as a compostition of counter-rotating CP fields of unequal intensity. We use a pair of phased generalized Bessel functions to describe the harmonic generation amplitude, and the conservation of the spin angular momentum during harmonic generation in the two-color field is derived in a solid base and in a straightforward way. The experimentally observed V-type and Λ-type distributions of the harmonic spectra with ellipticity are recovered theoretically. Balance pattern of the spin angular momentum is disclosed substantially.
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Kang Y, Pisanty E, Ciappina M, Lewenstein M, Figueira de Morisson Faria C, Maxwell AS. Conservation laws for electron vortices in strong-field ionisation. THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. D, ATOMIC, MOLECULAR, AND OPTICAL PHYSICS 2021; 75:199. [PMID: 34720728 PMCID: PMC8550503 DOI: 10.1140/epjd/s10053-021-00214-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
ABSTRACT We investigate twisted electrons with a well-defined orbital angular momentum, which have been ionised via a strong laser field. By formulating a new variant of the well-known strong field approximation, we are able to derive conservation laws for the angular momenta of twisted electrons in the cases of linear and circularly polarised fields. In the case of linear fields, we demonstrate that the orbital angular momentum of the twisted electron is determined by the magnetic quantum number of the initial bound state. The condition for the circular field can be related to the famous ATI peaks, and provides a new interpretation for this fundamental feature of photoelectron spectra. We find the length of the circular pulse to be a vital factor in this selection rule and, employing an effective frequency, we show that the photoelectron OAM emission spectra are sensitive to the parity of the number of laser cycles. This work provides the basic theoretical framework with which to understand the OAM of a photoelectron undergoing strong field ionisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxin Kang
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT UK
| | - Emilio Pisanty
- Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy, Max-Born-Straße 2A, 12489 Berlin, Germany
- ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Marcelo Ciappina
- ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- Physics Program, Guangdong Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Shantou, 515063 Guangdong China
- Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, 32000 Haifa, Israel
| | - Maciej Lewenstein
- ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Andrew S. Maxwell
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT UK
- ICFO - Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
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Lloyd-Hughes J, Oppeneer PM, Pereira Dos Santos T, Schleife A, Meng S, Sentef MA, Ruggenthaler M, Rubio A, Radu I, Murnane M, Shi X, Kapteyn H, Stadtmüller B, Dani KM, da Jornada FH, Prinz E, Aeschlimann M, Milot RL, Burdanova M, Boland J, Cocker T, Hegmann F. The 2021 ultrafast spectroscopic probes of condensed matter roadmap. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2021; 33:353001. [PMID: 33951618 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/abfe21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
In the 60 years since the invention of the laser, the scientific community has developed numerous fields of research based on these bright, coherent light sources, including the areas of imaging, spectroscopy, materials processing and communications. Ultrafast spectroscopy and imaging techniques are at the forefront of research into the light-matter interaction at the shortest times accessible to experiments, ranging from a few attoseconds to nanoseconds. Light pulses provide a crucial probe of the dynamical motion of charges, spins, and atoms on picosecond, femtosecond, and down to attosecond timescales, none of which are accessible even with the fastest electronic devices. Furthermore, strong light pulses can drive materials into unusual phases, with exotic properties. In this roadmap we describe the current state-of-the-art in experimental and theoretical studies of condensed matter using ultrafast probes. In each contribution, the authors also use their extensive knowledge to highlight challenges and predict future trends.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Lloyd-Hughes
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - P M Oppeneer
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, PO Box 516, S-75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - T Pereira Dos Santos
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States of America
| | - A Schleife
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States of America
- Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States of America
- National Center for Supercomputing Applications, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, United States of America
| | - S Meng
- Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - M A Sentef
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL), 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - M Ruggenthaler
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL), 22761 Hamburg, Germany
| | - A Rubio
- Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter, Center for Free Electron Laser Science (CFEL), 22761 Hamburg, Germany
- Nano-Bio Spectroscopy Group and ETSF, Universidad del País Vasco UPV/EHU 20018 San Sebastián, Spain
- Center for Computational Quantum Physics (CCQ), The Flatiron Institute, 162 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 10010, United States of America
| | - I Radu
- Department of Physics, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
- Max Born Institute, Berlin, Germany
| | - M Murnane
- JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO, United States of America
| | - X Shi
- JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO, United States of America
| | - H Kapteyn
- JILA, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO, United States of America
| | - B Stadtmüller
- Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, University of Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - K M Dani
- Femtosecond Spectroscopy Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Japan
| | - F H da Jornada
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, 94305, CA, United States of America
| | - E Prinz
- Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, University of Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - M Aeschlimann
- Department of Physics and Research Center OPTIMAS, University of Kaiserslautern, 67663 Kaiserslautern, Germany
| | - R L Milot
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - M Burdanova
- Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
| | - J Boland
- Photon Science Institute, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - T Cocker
- Michigan State University, United States of America
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Su Y, Fang K, Zhnag J. Shortcut to study angular momentum transfer of harmonic generation in intense laser fields. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:22679-22687. [PMID: 34266026 DOI: 10.1364/oe.430041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
High-order harmonics generated from atoms driven by counter-rotating two-color circularly (CRTC) polarized laser fields are studied in the frame of a quantum-field scattering theory. We use a pair of generalized phased Bessel (GPB) functions to describe the harmonic generation amplitude. The use of GPB functions allows us to define the phase of a harmonic channel accurately, by which we obtain the spin angular momentum conservation relation in a straightforward way. The known selection rule of harmonic order in the CRTC field is obtained concisely. Main features of the harmonic spectra are recovered. Our treatment provides a shortcut to study the angular momentum transfer in intense laser fields.
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Abstract
Structured light, which exhibits nontrivial intensity, phase, and polarization patterns in space, has key applications ranging from imaging and 3D micromanipulation to classical and quantum communication. However, to date, its application to molecular chirality has been limited by the weakness of magnetic interactions. Here we structure light's local handedness in space to introduce and realize an enantio-sensitive interferometer for efficient chiral recognition without magnetic interactions, which can be seen as an enantio-sensitive version of Young's double slit experiment. Upon interaction with isotropic chiral media, such chirality-structured light effectively creates chiral emitters of opposite handedness, located at different positions in space. We show that if the distribution of light's handedness breaks left-right symmetry, the interference of these chiral emitters leads to unidirectional bending of the emitted light, in opposite directions in media of opposite handedness, even if the number of the left-handed and right-handed emitters excited in the medium is exactly the same. Our work introduces the concepts of polarization of chirality and chirality-polarized light, exposes the immense potential of sculpting light's local chirality, and offers novel opportunities for efficient chiral discrimination, enantio-sensitive optical molecular fingerprinting and imaging on ultrafast time scales.
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Maxwell AS, Armstrong GSJ, Ciappina MF, Pisanty E, Kang Y, Brown AC, Lewenstein M, Figueira de Morisson Faria C. Manipulating twisted electrons in strong-field ionization. Faraday Discuss 2021; 228:394-412. [PMID: 33591304 DOI: 10.1039/d0fd00105h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
We investigate the discrete orbital angular momentum (OAM) of photoelectrons freed in strong-field ionization. We use these 'twisted' electrons to provide an alternative interpretation on existing experimental work of vortex interferences caused by strong field ionization mediated by two counter-rotating circularly polarized pulses separated by a delay. Using the strong field approximation, we derive an interference condition for the vortices. In computations for a neon target we find very good agreement of the vortex condition with photoelectron momentum distributions computed with the strong field approximation, as well as with the time-dependent methods Qprop and R-Matrix. For each of these approaches we examine the OAM of the photoelectrons, finding a small number of vortex states localized in separate energy regions. We demonstrate that the vortices arise from the interference of pairs of twisted electron states. The OAM of each twisted electron state can be directly related to the number of arms of the spiral in that region. We gain further understanding by recreating the vortices with pairs of twisted electrons and use this to determine a semiclassical relation for the OAM. A discussion is included on measuring the OAM in strong field ionization directly or by employing specific laser pulse schemes as well as utilizing the OAM in time-resolved imaging of photo-induced dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- A S Maxwell
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. and ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - G S J Armstrong
- Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - M F Ciappina
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain and Physics Program, Guangdong Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Shantou, Guangdong 515063, China and Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 32000, Israel
| | - E Pisanty
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Y Kang
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
| | - A C Brown
- Centre for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen's University Belfast, University Road, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK
| | - M Lewenstein
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain and ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010, Spain
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Kalha C, Fernando NK, Bhatt P, Johansson FOL, Lindblad A, Rensmo H, Medina LZ, Lindblad R, Siol S, Jeurgens LPH, Cancellieri C, Rossnagel K, Medjanik K, Schönhense G, Simon M, Gray AX, Nemšák S, Lömker P, Schlueter C, Regoutz A. Hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy: a snapshot of the state-of-the-art in 2020. JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. CONDENSED MATTER : AN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS JOURNAL 2021; 33:233001. [PMID: 33647896 DOI: 10.1088/1361-648x/abeacd] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Hard x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) is establishing itself as an essential technique for the characterisation of materials. The number of specialised photoelectron spectroscopy techniques making use of hard x-rays is steadily increasing and ever more complex experimental designs enable truly transformative insights into the chemical, electronic, magnetic, and structural nature of materials. This paper begins with a short historic perspective of HAXPES and spans from developments in the early days of photoelectron spectroscopy to provide an understanding of the origin and initial development of the technique to state-of-the-art instrumentation and experimental capabilities. The main motivation for and focus of this paper is to provide a picture of the technique in 2020, including a detailed overview of available experimental systems worldwide and insights into a range of specific measurement modi and approaches. We also aim to provide a glimpse into the future of the technique including possible developments and opportunities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Curran Kalha
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Nathalie K Fernando
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Prajna Bhatt
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
| | - Fredrik O L Johansson
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Andreas Lindblad
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Håkan Rensmo
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Box 516, 75120 Uppsala, Sweden
| | - León Zendejas Medina
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 538, SE-75121, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Rebecka Lindblad
- Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Uppsala University, Box 538, SE-75121, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Sebastian Siol
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Joining Technologies and Corrosion, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Lars P H Jeurgens
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Joining Technologies and Corrosion, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Claudia Cancellieri
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Joining Technologies and Corrosion, Dübendorf, Switzerland
| | - Kai Rossnagel
- Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, Kiel University, 24098 Kiel, Germany
- Ruprecht Haensel Laboratory, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Katerina Medjanik
- Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Institut für Physik, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Gerd Schönhense
- Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Institut für Physik, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Marc Simon
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Laboratoire de Chimie Physique-Matière et Rayonnement, LCPMR, F-75005 Paris, France
| | - Alexander X Gray
- Department of Physics, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, United States of America
| | - Slavomír Nemšák
- Advanced Light Source, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, United States of America
| | - Patrick Lömker
- Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Anna Regoutz
- Department of Chemistry, University College London, 20 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0AJ, United Kingdom
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35
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Yi L. High-Harmonic Generation and Spin-Orbit Interaction of Light in a Relativistic Oscillating Window. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2021; 126:134801. [PMID: 33861098 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.126.134801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 01/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
When a high power laser beam irradiates a small aperture on a solid foil target, the strong laser field drives surface plasma oscillation at the periphery of this aperture, which acts as a "relativistic oscillating window." The diffracted light that travels though such an aperture contains high-harmonics of the fundamental laser frequency. When the driving laser beam is circularly polarized, the high-harmonic generation (HHG) process facilitates a conversion of the spin angular momentum of the fundamental light into the intrinsic orbital angular momentum of the harmonics. By means of theoretical modeling and fully 3D particle-in-cell simulations, it is shown the harmonic beams of order n are optical vortices with topological charge |l|=n-1, and a power-law spectrum I_{n}∝n^{-3.5} is produced for sufficiently intense laser beams, where I_{n} is the intensity of the nth harmonic. This work opens up a new realm of possibilities for producing intense extreme ultraviolet vortices, and diffraction-based HHG studies at relativistic intensities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longqing Yi
- Department of Physics, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden
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36
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Wang B, Tanksalvala M, Zhang Z, Esashi Y, Jenkins NW, Murnane MM, Kapteyn HC, Liao CT. Coherent Fourier scatterometry using orbital angular momentum beams for defect detection. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:3342-3358. [PMID: 33770934 DOI: 10.1364/oe.414584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Defect inspection on lithographic substrates, masks, reticles, and wafers is an important quality assurance process in semiconductor manufacturing. Coherent Fourier scatterometry (CFS) using laser beams with a Gaussian spatial profile is the standard workhorse routinely used as an in-line inspection tool to achieve high throughput. As the semiconductor industry advances toward shrinking critical dimensions in high volume manufacturing using extreme ultraviolet lithography, new techniques that enable high-sensitivity, high-throughput, and in-line inspection are critically needed. Here we introduce a set of novel defect inspection techniques based on bright-field CFS using coherent beams that carry orbital angular momentum (OAM). One of these techniques, the differential OAM CFS, is particularly unique because it does not rely on referencing to a pre-established database in the case of regularly patterned structures with reflection symmetry. The differential OAM CFS exploits OAM beams with opposite wavefront or phase helicity to provide contrast in the presence of detects. We numerically investigated the performance of these techniques on both amplitude and phase defects and demonstrated their superior advantages-up to an order of magnitude higher in signal-to-noise ratio-over the conventional Gaussian beam CFS. These new techniques will enable increased sensitivity and robustness for in-line nanoscale defect inspection and the concept could also benefit x-ray scattering and scatterometry in general.
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Boyero-García R, Zurrón-Cifuentes O, Plaja L, Hernández-García C. Transverse phase matching of high-order harmonic generation in single-layer graphene. OPTICS EXPRESS 2021; 29:2488-2500. [PMID: 33726443 DOI: 10.1364/oe.412639] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/29/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The efficiency of high-harmonic generation (HHG) from a macroscopic sample is strongly linked to the proper phase matching of the contributions from the microscopic emitters. We develop a combined micro+macroscopic theoretical model that allows us to distinguish the relevance of high-order harmonic phase matching in single-layer graphene. For a Gaussian driving beam, our simulations show that the relevant HHG emission is spatially constrained to a phase-matched ring around the beam axis. This remarkable finding is a direct consequence of the non-perturbative behavior of HHG in graphene-whose harmonic efficiency scaling is similar to that already observed in gases- and bridges the gap between the microscopic and macroscopic HHG in single-layer graphene.
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Chen S, Li K, Deng J, Li G, Zhang S. High-Order Nonlinear Spin-Orbit Interaction on Plasmonic Metasurfaces. NANO LETTERS 2020; 20:8549-8555. [PMID: 33136417 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c03100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
In linear optics, the angular momentum of light can be easily manipulated through the optical spin-orbit interaction (SOI) in structured media such as liquid crystals, metasurfaces, and forked gratings. Similarly, metasurfaces can be used to generate nonlinear optical beams with both custom-defined spin angular momentum (SAM) and orbital angular momentum (OAM) states. However, it has been limited to a low-order process in which only a Gaussian-shaped fundamental wave is used. In this work, the high-order nonlinear optical SOI effect on metasurfaces is demonstrated through the generation of multiple angular momentum states in nonlinear waves. This is achieved by exploiting the degrees of freedom provided by both the SAM and the OAM states of the fundamental wave (FW) and the topological charges of the plasmonic metasurfaces. The mechanism of both intrinsic and extrinsic contributions to the OAM of the nonlinear waves is revealed. High-order nonlinear SOI on metasurfaces offers new opportunities for realizing ultracompact nonlinear vortex beams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shumei Chen
- School of Science, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Key Laboratory of Micro-Nano Optoelectronic Information System of Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Kingfai Li
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Junhong Deng
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Guixin Li
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
- Shenzhen Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen 518055, China
| | - Shuang Zhang
- School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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Rego L, San Román J, Plaja L, Hernández-García C. Trains of attosecond pulses structured with time-ordered polarization states. OPTICS LETTERS 2020; 45:5636-5639. [PMID: 33057245 DOI: 10.1364/ol.404402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/05/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Ultrafast laser pulses generated at the attosecond timescale represent a unique tool to explore the fastest dynamics in matter. An accurate control of their properties, such as polarization, is fundamental to shape three-dimensional laser-driven dynamics. We introduce a technique to generate attosecond pulse trains whose polarization state varies from pulse to pulse. This is accomplished by driving high-harmonic generation with two time-delayed bichromatic counter-rotating fields with proper orbital angular momentum (OAM) content. Our simulations show that the evolution of the polarization state along the train can be controlled via OAM, pulse duration, and time delay of the driving fields. We, thus, introduce an additional control into structured attosecond pulses that provides an alternative route to explore ultrafast dynamics with potential applications in chiral and magnetic materials.
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Guo WP, Liang WY, Cheng CW, Wu WL, Wang YT, Sun Q, Zu S, Misawa H, Cheng PJ, Chang SW, Ahn H, Lin MT, Gwo S. Chiral Second-Harmonic Generation from Monolayer WS 2/Aluminum Plasmonic Vortex Metalens. NANO LETTERS 2020; 20:2857-2864. [PMID: 32163291 DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00645] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Two-dimensional spiral plasmonic structures have emerged as a versatile approach to generate near-field vortex fields with tunable topological charges. We demonstrate here a far-field approach to observe the chiral second-harmonic generation (SHG) at designated visible wavelengths from a single plasmonic vortex metalens. This metalens comprises an Archimedean spiral slit fabricated on atomically flat aluminum epitaxial film, which allows for precise tuning of plasmonic resonances and subsequent transfer of two-dimensional materials on top of the spiral slit. The nonlinear optical measurements show a giant SHG circular dichroism. Furthermore, we have achieved an enhanced chiral SHG conversion efficiency (about an order of magnitude greater than the bare aluminum lens) from monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2)/aluminum metalens, which is designed at the C-exciton resonance of WS2. Since the C-exciton is not a valley exciton, the enhanced chiral SHG in this hybrid system originates from the plasmonic vortex field-enhanced SHG under the optical spin-orbit interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wan-Ping Guo
- Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Yun Liang
- Department of Photonics, College of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Chang-Wei Cheng
- Department of Physics, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
| | - Wei-Lin Wu
- Department of Physics, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
| | - Yen-Ting Wang
- Department of Electrophysics, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Quan Sun
- Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
| | - Shuai Zu
- Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Misawa
- Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 001-0021, Japan
- Center for Emergent Functional Matter Science, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Pi-Ju Cheng
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Wei Chang
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Hyeyoung Ahn
- Department of Photonics, College of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
| | - Minn-Tsong Lin
- Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10617, Taiwan
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Shangjr Gwo
- Department of Physics, National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan
- Research Center for Applied Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
- Department of Electrophysics, National Chiao-Tung University, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan
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Intense attosecond pulses carrying orbital angular momentum using laser plasma interactions. Nat Commun 2019; 10:5554. [PMID: 31804472 PMCID: PMC6895158 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13357-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Light beams with helical phase-fronts are known to carry orbital angular momentum (OAM) and provide an additional degree of freedom to beams of coherent light. While OAM beams can be readily derived from Gaussian laser beams with phase plates or gratings, this is far more challenging in the extreme ultra-violet (XUV), especially for the case of high XUV intensity. Here, we theoretically and numerically demonstrate that intense surface harmonics carrying OAM are naturally produced by the intrinsic dynamics of a relativistically intense circularly-polarized Gaussian beam (i.e. non-vortex) interacting with a target at normal incidence. Relativistic surface oscillations convert the laser pulses to intense XUV harmonic radiation via the well-known relativistic oscillating mirror mechanism. We show that the azimuthal and radial dependence of the harmonic generation process converts the spin angular momentum of the laser beam to orbital angular momentum resulting in an intense attosecond pulse (or pulse train) with OAM. Vortices in light fields are of growing importance in the XUV and X-ray ranges. Here the authors show by simulations that high harmonics and attosecond pulses, generated while irradiating a deformed thin foil with circularly-polarized Gaussian laser pulses, carry a well-defined orbital angular momentum.
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Rego L, Dorney KM, Brooks NJ, Nguyen QL, Liao CT, San Román J, Couch DE, Liu A, Pisanty E, Lewenstein M, Plaja L, Kapteyn HC, Murnane MM, Hernández-García C. Generation of extreme-ultraviolet beams with time-varying orbital angular momentum. Science 2019; 364:364/6447/eaaw9486. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw9486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Light fields carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM) provide powerful capabilities for applications in optical communications, microscopy, quantum optics, and microparticle manipulation. We introduce a property of light beams, manifested as a temporal OAM variation along a pulse: the self-torque of light. Although self-torque is found in diverse physical systems (i.e., electrodynamics and general relativity), it was not realized that light could possess such a property. We demonstrate that extreme-ultraviolet self-torqued beams arise in high-harmonic generation driven by time-delayed pulses with different OAM. We monitor the self-torque of extreme-ultraviolet beams through their azimuthal frequency chirp. This class of dynamic-OAM beams provides the ability for controlling magnetic, topological, and quantum excitations and for manipulating molecules and nanostructures on their natural time and length scales.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Rego
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | - Kevin M. Dorney
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Nathan J. Brooks
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Quynh L. Nguyen
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Chen-Ting Liao
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Julio San Román
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | - David E. Couch
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Allison Liu
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Emilio Pisanty
- ICFO, Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Maciej Lewenstein
- ICFO, Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Luis Plaja
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
| | - Henry C. Kapteyn
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- Kapteyn-Murnane Laboratories Inc. (KMLabs Inc.), 4775 Walnut Street no. 102, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
| | - Margaret M. Murnane
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado and NIST, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Carlos Hernández-García
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, Salamanca E-37008, Spain
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Pisanty E, Rego L, San Román J, Picón A, Dorney KM, Kapteyn HC, Murnane MM, Plaja L, Lewenstein M, Hernández-García C. Conservation of Torus-knot Angular Momentum in High-order Harmonic Generation. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 122:203201. [PMID: 31172784 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.122.203201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
High-order harmonic generation stands as a unique nonlinear optical up-conversion process, mediated by a laser-driven electron recollision mechanism, which has been shown to conserve energy, linear momentum, and spin and orbital angular momentum. Here, we present theoretical simulations that demonstrate that this process also conserves a mixture of the latter, the torus-knot angular momentum J_{γ}, by producing high-order harmonics with driving pulses that are invariant under coordinated rotations. We demonstrate that the charge J_{γ} of the emitted harmonics scales linearly with the harmonic order, and that this conservation law is imprinted onto the polarization distribution of the emitted spiral of attosecond pulses. We also demonstrate how the nonperturbative physics of high-order harmonic generation affect the torus-knot angular momentum of the harmonics, and we show that this configuration harnesses the spin selection rules to channel the full yield of each harmonic into a single mode of controllable orbital angular momentum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilio Pisanty
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
| | - Laura Rego
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, E-37008, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Julio San Román
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, E-37008, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Antonio Picón
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- Departamento de Química, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Kevin M Dorney
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Henry C Kapteyn
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Margaret M Murnane
- JILA, Department of Physics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, USA
| | - Luis Plaja
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, E-37008, Salamanca, Spain
| | - Maciej Lewenstein
- ICFO-Institut de Ciencies Fotoniques, The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Av. Carl Friedrich Gauss 3, 08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
- ICREA, Passeig de Lluís Companys, 23, 08010 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carlos Hernández-García
- Grupo de Investigación en Aplicaciones del Láser y Fotónica, Departamento de Física Aplicada, University of Salamanca, E-37008, Salamanca, Spain
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Zurrón-Cifuentes Ó, Boyero-García R, Hernández-García C, Picón A, Plaja L. Optical anisotropy of non-perturbative high-order harmonic generation in gapless graphene. OPTICS EXPRESS 2019; 27:7776-7786. [PMID: 30876335 DOI: 10.1364/oe.27.007776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
High harmonic generation in atomic or molecular targets stands as a robust mechanism to produce coherent ultrashort pulses with controllable polarization in the extreme-ultraviolet. However, the production of elliptically or circularly-polarized harmonics is not straightforward, demanding complex combinations of elliptically or circularly-polarized drivers, or the use of molecular alignment techniques. Nevertheless, recent studies show the feasibility of high-harmonic generation in solids. In contrast with atoms and molecules, solids are high-density targets and therefore more efficient radiation sources. Among solid targets, 2D materials are of special interest due to their particular electronic structure, which conveys special optical properties. In this paper, we present theoretical calculations that demonstrate an extraordinary complex light-spin conversion in single-layer graphene irradiated at non perturbative intensities. Linearly-polarized drivings result in the emission of elliptically-polarized harmonics, and elliptically-polarized drivings may result in linearly-polarized or ellipticity-reversed harmonics. In addition, we demonstrate the ultrafast temporal modulation of the harmonic ellipticity.
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