Single-shot large field of view Fourier transform holography with a picosecond plasma-based soft X-ray laser.

It is challenging to obtain nanoscale resolution images in a single ultrafast shot because a large number of photons, greater than 1011, are required in a single pulse of the illuminating source. We demonstrate single-shot high resolution Fourier transform holography over a broad 7 µm diameter field of view with ∼ 5 ps temporal resolution. The experiment used a plasma-based soft X-ray laser operating at 18.9 nm wavelength with nearly full spatial coherence and close to diffraction-limited divergence implemented utilizing a dual-plasma amplifier scheme. A Fresnel zone plate with a central aperture is used to efficiently generate the object and reference beams. Rapid numerical reconstruction by a 2D Fourier transform allows for real-time imaging. A half-pitch spatial resolution of 62 nm was obtained. This single-shot nanoscale-resolution imaging technique will allow for real-time ultrafast imaging of dynamic phenomena in compact setups.

Role of damping in spin Seebeck effect in yttrium iron garnet thin films.

The role of damping in the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) was studied experimentally for the first time. The experiments used Y3Fe5O12 (YIG)/Pt bilayered structures where the YIG films exhibit very similar structural and static magnetic properties but very different damping. The data show that a decrease in the damping gives rise to an increase in the SSE coefficient, which is qualitatively consistent with some of the theoretical models. This response also shows quasi-linear behavior, which was not predicted explicitly by previous studies. The data also indicate that the SSE coefficient shows no notable correlations with the enhanced damping due to spin pumping, which can be understood in the frame of two existing models.

Spin-orbit torque-assisted switching in magnetic insulator thin films with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy.

As an in-plane charge current flows in a heavy metal film with spin-orbit coupling, it produces a torque on and thereby switches the magnetization in a neighbouring ferromagnetic metal film. Such spin-orbit torque (SOT)-induced switching has been studied extensively in recent years and has shown higher efficiency than switching using conventional spin-transfer torque. Here we report the SOT-assisted switching in heavy metal/magnetic insulator systems. The experiments used a Pt/BaFe12O19 bilayer where the BaFe12O19 layer exhibits perpendicular magnetic anisotropy. As a charge current is passed through the Pt film, it produces a SOT that can control the up and down states of the remnant magnetization in the BaFe12O19 film when the film is magnetized by an in-plane magnetic field. It can reduce or increase the switching field of the BaFe12O19 film by as much as about 500 Oe when the film is switched with an out-of-plane field.

Extreme ultraviolet Talbot interference lithography.

Periodic nanopatterns can be generated using lithography based on the Talbot effect or optical interference. However, these techniques have restrictions that limit their performance. High resolution Talbot lithography is limited by the very small depth of focus and the demanding requirements in the fabrication of the master mask. Interference lithography, with large DOF and high resolution, is limited to simple periodic patterns. This paper describes a hybrid extreme ultraviolet lithography approach that combines Talbot lithography and interference lithography to render an interference pattern with a lattice determined by a Talbot image. As a result, the method enables filling the arbitrary shaped cells produced by the Talbot image with interference patterns. Detailed modeling, system design and experimental results using a tabletop EUV laser are presented.

Fractional Talbot lithography with extreme ultraviolet light.

Fractional Talbot effect leads to the possibility to implement patterning of structures with smaller periods than the master mask. This is particularly attractive when using short wavelength illumination in the extreme ultraviolet because of attainable resolution in the sub-100-nm range. In this Letter, we demonstrate the Talbot lithography with the fractional Talbot effect under coherent illumination generated with a capillary discharge Ne-like Ar extreme ultraviolet laser. Various spatial frequency multiplications up to 5x are achieved using a parent grating. This technique allows a fabrication of nanostructures with high-resolution patterns, which is of high interest in many applications such as the manufacturing of plasmonic surfaces and photonic devices.

Design of a phase-shifting interferometer in the extreme ultraviolet for high-precision metrology.

The design of a phase-shift interferometer in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) is described. The interferometer is expected to achieve a significantly higher precision as compared with similar instruments that utilize lasers in the visible range. The interferometer's design is specifically adapted for its utilization with a table top pulsed capillary discharge EUV laser. The numerical model evaluates the errors in the interferograms and in the retrieved wavefront induced by the shot-to-shot fluctuations and pointing instabilities of the laser.

Recording oscillations of sub-micron size cantilevers by extreme ultraviolet Fourier transform holography.

We recorded the fast oscillation of sub-micron cantilevers using time-resolved extreme ultraviolet (EUV) Fourier transform holography. A tabletop capillary discharge EUV laser with a wavelength of 46.9 nm provided a large flux of coherent illumination that was split using a Fresnel zone plate to generate the object and the reference beams. The reference wave was produced by the first order focus while a central opening in the zone plate provided a direct illumination of the cantilevers. Single-shot holograms allowed for the composition of a movie featuring the fast oscillation. Three-dimensional displacements of the object were determined as well by numerical back-propagation, or "refocusing" of the electromagnetic fields during the reconstruction of a single hologram.

Tabletop single-shot extreme ultraviolet Fourier transform holography of an extended object.

We demonstrate single and multi-shot Fourier transform holography with the use of a tabletop extreme ultraviolet laser. The reference wave was produced by a Fresnel zone plate with a central opening that allowed the incident beam to illuminate the sample directly. The high reference wave intensity allows for larger objects to be imaged compared to mask-based lensless Fourier transform holography techniques. We obtain a spatial resolution of 169 nm from a single laser pulse and a resolution of 128 nm from an accumulation of 20 laser pulses for an object ~11x11µm(2) in size. This experiment utilized a tabletop extreme ultraviolet laser that produces a highly coherent ~1.2 ns laser pulse at 46.9 nm wavelength.

Hour-long continuous operation of a tabletop soft x-ray laser at 50-100 Hz repetition rate.

We report the uninterrupted operation of an 18.9 nm wavelength tabletop soft x-ray laser at 100 Hz repetition rate for extended periods of time. An average power of about 0.1 mW was obtained by irradiating a Mo target with pulses from a compact diode-pumped chirped pulse amplification Yb:YAG laser. Series of up to 1.8 x 10(5) consecutive laser pulses of ~1 µJ energy were generated by displacing the surface of a high shot-capacity rotating molybdenum target by ~2 µm between laser shots. As a proof-of-principle demonstration of the use of this compact ultrashort wavelength laser in applications requiring a high average power coherent beam, we lithographically printed an array of nanometer-scale features using coherent Talbot self-imaging.

Jejunal atresia and anterior chamber anomalies: Further delineation of the Strømme syndrome.

Strømme syndrome is a rare multiple congenital malformation syndrome consisting in apple peel intestinal atresia, ocular anomalies, microcephaly and developmental delay. To date, this condition was described in a couple of sibs and 7 additional sporadic patients. We report on a 11-month-old female, who requested surgical correction for jejunal atresia shortly after birth and also presented with megalocornea and persistence of the pupillary membrane. Microcephaly and developmental delay were absent at last examination. An oligonucleotide CGH-array analysis excluded cryptic chromosome rearrangement(s). Comparison of the previously published and present patients added some details on the natural history of Strømme syndrome. Delivery is usually performed preterm possibly due to polyhydramnios. Birth parameters, especially head circumference, are commonly at the lower end of the normal range. Microcephaly is more frequently but not constantly observed in older individuals, thus suggesting a progressive course, and may relate to an underlying neuronal migration defect. Jejunal atresia has an apple peel appearance in most but not all patients and its post-surgical course is usually uneventful. The ocular phenotype comprises a wide range of anterior chamber anomalies with sclerocornea/corneal leukoma being the most common.

Dynamics of a dense laboratory plasma jet investigated using soft x-ray laser interferometry.

The formation and evolution of a collisional aluminum plasma jet created by optical laser irradiation of triangular grooves with pulses of 120ps duration at an intensity of 1x10(12)W cm(-2) were studied with experiments and simulations. Series of high-contrast soft x-ray laser interferograms obtained with a 46.9nm laser mapped the plasma density evolution of an initially narrow plasma jet that expands along the symmetry plane and evolves into a broader plasma plume with significant side lobes. Two-dimensional simulations performed using the radiation hydrodynamic code HYDRA reveal that the jet formation is initiated by accelerated material ablated from the vertex and is augmented by the continual sequential arrival of wall material along the symmetry plane, where it collides and is redirected outward. Radiative cooling is identified as an important process in maintaining the collimation of the jet. These results demonstrate that well collimated collisional plasma jets with parameters in a range of interest can be generated with low-energy laser pulses (<1J) , opening the possibility of studying relevant plasma phenomena in a small laboratory setting.

Diffusion-viscosity decoupling in supercooled aqueous trehalose solutions.

The diffusional mobility of disodium fluorescein has been measured in supercooled aqueous solutions of trehalose, a widely used cryoprotectant disaccharide. The results were analyzed on the basis of the classical continuum hydrodynamic theory (Stokes-Einstein relationship) and compared with results for the diffusion and electrical conductivity of other ionic and nonionic solutes in trehalose and sucrose aqueous solutions. Disodium fluorescein obeys the classical model over a restricted range of inverse reduced temperatures, T g/ T, scaled by the glass transition temperature. Decoupling in neutral solutes takes place at higher values of T g/ T, while in ionic solutes it occurs all over the range of T g/ T studied, as observed for the water mobility in supercooled sugar solutions.

Single-shot extreme ultraviolet laser imaging of nanostructures with wavelength resolution.

We have demonstrated near-wavelength resolution microscopy in the extreme ultraviolet. Images of 50 nm diameter nanotubes were obtained with a single ~1 ns duration pulse from a desktop-size 46.9 nm laser. We measured the modulation transfer function of the microscope for three different numerical aperture zone plate objectives, demonstrating that 54 nm half-period structures can be resolved. The combination of near-wavelength spatial resolution and high temporal resolution opens myriad opportunities in imaging, such as the ability to directly investigate dynamics of nanoscale structures.

High numerical aperture tabletop soft x-ray diffraction microscopy with 70-nm resolution.

Light microscopy has greatly advanced our understanding of nature. The achievable resolution, however, is limited by optical wavelengths to approximately 200 nm. By using imaging and labeling technologies, resolutions beyond the diffraction limit can be achieved for specialized specimens with techniques such as near-field scanning optical microscopy, stimulated emission depletion microscopy, and photoactivated localization microscopy. Here, we report a versatile soft x-ray diffraction microscope with 70- to 90-nm resolution by using two different tabletop coherent soft x-ray sources-a soft x-ray laser and a high-harmonic source. We also use field curvature correction that allows high numerical aperture imaging and near-diffraction-limited resolution of 1.5lambda. A tabletop soft x-ray diffraction microscope should find broad applications in biology, nanoscience, and materials science because of its simple optical design, high resolution, large depth of field, 3D imaging capability, scalability to shorter wavelengths, and ultrafast temporal resolution.

Dynamics of converging laser-created plasmas in semicylindrical cavities studied using soft x-ray laser interferometry.

The evolution of dense aluminum and carbon plasmas produced by laser irradiation of 500-microm -diam semicylindrical targets was studied using soft x-ray laser interferometry. Plasmas created heating the cavity walls with 120-ps -duration optical laser pulses of approximately 1x10;{12}Wcm;{-2} peak intensity were observed to expand and converge on axis to form a localized high-density plasma region. Electron density maps were measured using a 46.9-nm -wavelength tabletop capillary discharge soft x-ray laser probe in combination with an amplitude division interferometer based on diffraction gratings. The measurements show that the plasma density on axis exceeds 1x10;{20}cm;{-3} . The electron density profiles are compared with simulations conducted using the hydrodynamic code HYDRA, which show that the abrupt density increase near the axis is dominantly caused by the convergence of plasma generated at the bottom of the groove during laser irradiation.

Prediction and observation of tin and silver plasmas with index of refraction greater than one in the soft x-ray range.

We present the calculated prediction and the experimental confirmation that doubly ionized Ag and Sn plasmas can have an index of refraction greater than one for soft x-ray wavelengths. Interferometry experiments conducted using a capillary discharge soft x-ray laser operating at a wavelength of confirm that in few times ionized laser-created plasmas of these elements the anomalous dispersion from bound electrons can dominate the free electron contribution, making the index of refraction greater than one. The results confirm that bound electrons can strongly influence the index of refraction of numerous plasmas over a broad range of soft x-ray wavelengths confirming recent observations. The understanding of index of refraction at short wavelengths will become even more essential during the next decade as x-ray free electron lasers will become available to probe a wider variety of plasmas at higher densities and shorter wavelengths.

Picosecond-resolution soft-x-ray laser plasma interferometry.

We describe a soft-x-ray laser interferometry technique that allows two-dimensional diagnosis of plasma electron density with picosecond time resolution. It consists of the combination of a robust high-throughput amplitude-division interferometer and a 14.7-nm transient-inversion soft-x-ray laser that produces approximately 5-ps pulses. Because of its picosecond resolution and short-wavelength scalability, this technique has the potential for extending the high inherent precision of soft-x-ray laser interferometry to the study of very dense plasmas of significant fundamental and practical interest, such as those investigated for inertial confinement fusion. Results of its use in the diagnostics of dense large-scale laser-created plasmas are presented.