Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026
10:52
Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
Deep-ultraviolet picosecond flat-top pulses by chirp-matched sum frequency generation
C Vicario1, A Trisorio, G Arisholm
1Paul Scherrer Institute SwissFEL, CH-5232 Villigen PSI, Switzerland. carlo.vicario@psi.ch
Optics Letters
|May 26, 2012
Summary
Generating high-energy, picosecond, deep-ultraviolet (UV) pulses is crucial for advanced light sources. A novel chirp-matched sum frequency generation method achieves these challenging pulses, enabling brighter electron beams for X-ray free electron lasers.
Area of Science:
- Laser physics
- Ultrafast optics
- Particle accelerators
Background:
- High-brightness electron beams are essential for driving X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs).
- Current metal photocathodes require high-energy, picosecond, deep-ultraviolet (UV) pulses for efficient operation.
- Generating such pulses in the deep UV is technically challenging due to limitations in pulse shaping and harmonic generation efficiencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel method for generating high-energy, picosecond, deep-UV pulses.
- To overcome the limitations of existing pulse shaping techniques for deep-UV applications.
- To enable efficient production of high-brightness photoelectron beams for XFELs.
Main Methods:
- Utilized chirp-matched sum frequency generation (SFG) for pulse generation.
- Incorporated infrared (IR) spectral manipulation to control the deep-UV pulse profile.
- Developed a novel approach for deep-UV pulse shaping.
Main Results:
- Successfully generated picosecond deep-UV pulses with energies in the few-hundred microjoule range.
- Achieved flat-top pulse profiles with a fast rise time.
- Demonstrated a pulse shaping scheme suitable for high-brightness photoelectron beam production.
Conclusions:
- The chirp-matched SFG scheme offers a viable solution for generating high-energy, picosecond, deep-UV pulses.
- This method overcomes previous limitations in pulse energy and rise time.
- The generated pulses are highly suitable for driving next-generation X-ray free electron lasers.
Related Concept Videos
01:17NMR Spectrometers: Radiofrequency Pulses and Pulse Sequences
A pulse is a short burst of radio waves distributed over a range of frequencies that simultaneously excites all the nuclei in the sample. Upon passing a radio frequency pulse along the x-axis, the nuclei absorb energy corresponding to their Larmor frequencies and achieve resonance. This shifts the net magnetization vector from the z-axis toward the transverse plane. This angle of rotation of the magnetization vector, or the flip angle, is proportional to the duration and intensity of the pulse.
01:12Double Resonance Techniques: Overview
Double resonance techniques in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy involve the simultaneous application of two different frequencies or radiofrequency pulses to manipulate and observe two distinct nuclear spins. One important application of double resonance is spin decoupling, which selectively suppresses coupling with one type of nucleus while observing the NMR signal from another nucleus, simplifying the spectrum and enhancing resolution.
Spin decoupling is usually achieved by...
Spin decoupling is usually achieved by...