Following the Nonthermal Phase Transition in Niobium Dioxide by Time-Resolved Harmonic Spectroscopy

Photoinduced phase transitions in correlated materials promise diverse applications from ultrafast switches to optoelectronics. Resolving those transitions and possible metastable phases temporally are key enablers for these applications, but challenge existing experimental approaches. Extreme nonlinear optics can help probe phase changes, as higher-order nonlinearities have higher sensitivity and temporal resolution to band structure and lattice deformations. Here the ultrafast transition from the semiconducting to the metallic phases in polycrystalline thin-film NbO_{2} is investigated by time-resolved harmonic spectroscopy. The emission strength of all harmonic orders shows a steplike suppression when the excitation fluence exceeds a threshold (∼11-12  mJ/cm^{2}), below the fluence required for the thermal transition-a signature of the nonthermal emergence of a metallic phase within 100±20  fs. This observation is backed by full ab initio simulations as well as a 1D chain model of high-harmonic generation from both phases. Our results demonstrate femtosecond harmonic probing of phase transitions and nonthermal dynamics in solids.

Extreme ultraviolet-excited time-resolved luminescence spectroscopy using an ultrafast table-top high-harmonic generation source

We present a table-top extreme ultraviolet (XUV) beamline for measuring time- and frequency-resolved XUV-excited optical luminescence (XEOL) with additional femtosecond-resolution XUV transient absorption spectroscopy functionality. XUV pulses are generated via high-harmonic generation using a near-infrared pulse in a noble gas medium and focused to excite luminescence from a solid sample. The luminescence is collimated and guided into a streak camera where its spectral components are temporally resolved with picosecond temporal resolution. We time-resolve XUV-excited luminescence and compare the results to luminescence decays excited at longer wavelengths for three different materials: (i) sodium salicylate, an often used XUV scintillator; (ii) fluorescent labeling molecule 4-carbazole benzoic (CB) acid; and (iii) a zirconium metal oxo-cluster labeled with CB, which is a photoresist candidate for extreme-ultraviolet lithography. Our results establish time-resolved XEOL as a new technique to measure transient XUV-driven phenomena in solid-state samples and identify decay mechanisms of molecules following XUV and soft-x-ray excitation.

Observation of laser-induced electronic structure in oriented polyatomic molecules

All attosecond time-resolved measurements have so far relied on the use of intense near-infrared laser pulses. In particular, attosecond streaking, laser-induced electron diffraction and high-harmonic generation all make use of non-perturbative light-matter interactions. Remarkably, the effect of the strong laser field on the studied sample has often been neglected in previous studies. Here we use high-harmonic spectroscopy to measure laser-induced modifications of the electronic structure of molecules. We study high-harmonic spectra of spatially oriented CH3F and CH3Br as generic examples of polar polyatomic molecules. We accurately measure intensity ratios of even and odd-harmonic orders, and of the emission from aligned and unaligned molecules. We show that these robust observables reveal a substantial modification of the molecular electronic structure by the external laser field. Our insights offer new challenges and opportunities for a range of emerging strong-field attosecond spectroscopies.

Two-pulse field-free orientation reveals anisotropy of molecular shape resonance

We report the observation of macroscopic field-free orientation, i.e., more than 73% of CO molecules pointing in the same direction. This is achieved through an all-optical scheme operating at high particle densities (>10(17)  cm(-3)) that combines one-color (ω) and two-color (ω+2ω) nonresonant femtosecond laser pulses. We show that the achieved orientation solely relies on the hyperpolarizability interaction as opposed to an ionization-depletion mechanism, thus, opening a wide range of applications. The achieved strong orientation enables us to reveal the molecular-frame anisotropies of the photorecombination amplitudes and phases caused by a shape resonance. The resonance appears as a local maximum in the even-harmonic emission around 28 eV. In contrast, the odd-harmonic emission is suppressed in this spectral region through the combined effects of an asymmetric photorecombination phase and a subcycle Stark effect, generic for polar molecules, that we experimentally identify.

High-harmonic probing of electronic coherence in dynamically aligned molecules

We introduce and demonstrate a new approach to measuring coherent electron wave packets using high-harmonic spectroscopy. By preparing a molecule in a coherent superposition of electronic states, we show that electronic coherence opens previously unobserved high-harmonic-generation channels that connect distinct but coherently related electronic states. Performing the measurements in dynamically aligned nitric oxide molecules we observe the complex temporal evolution of the electronic coherence under coupling to nuclear motion. Choosing a weakly allowed transition to prepare the wave packet, we demonstrate an unprecedented sensitivity that arises from optical interference between coherent and incoherent pathways. This mechanism converts a 0.1% excitation fraction into a ∼20% signal modulation.

High-harmonic spectroscopy of oriented OCS molecules: emission of even and odd harmonics

We study the emission of even and odd high-harmonic orders from oriented OCS molecules. We use an intense, nonresonant femtosecond laser pulse superimposed with its phase-controlled second harmonic field to impulsively align and orient a dense sample of molecules from which we subsequently generate high-order harmonics. The even harmonics appear around the full revivals of the rotational dynamics. We demonstrate perfect coherent control over their intensity through the subcycle delay of the two-color fields. The odd harmonics are insensitive to the degree of orientation, but modulate with the degree of axis alignment, in agreement with calculated photorecombination dipole moments. We further compare the shape of the even and odd harmonic spectra with our calculations and determine the degree of orientation.