Water-window soft x-ray high-harmonic generation up to the nitrogen K-edge driven by a kHz, 2.1<i>μ</i>m OPCPA source

Abstract

We report the generation of coherent water-window soft x-ray harmonics in a neon-filled semiinfinite gas cell driven by a femtosecond multi-mJ mid-infrared optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) system at a 1 kHz repetition rate. The cutoff energy was extended to∼450 eV with a 2.1 μm driver wavelength and a photon flux of ~1.5 ´ 106 photons/s/1% bandwidth was obtained at 350 eV. A comparable photon flux of ~1.0 ´ 106 photons/s/1% bandwidth was observed at the nitrogen K-edge of 410 eV. This is the first demonstration of water-window harmonic generation up to the nitrogen K-edge from a kHz OPCPA system. Finally, this system is suitable for time-resolved soft x-ray near-edge absorption spectroscopy. Further scaling of the driving pulseʼs energy and repetition rate is feasible due to the availability of high-power picosecond Yb-doped pump laser technologies, thereby enabling ultrafast, tabletop water-window x-ray imaging.