title: Time-delay compensated monochromator for the spectral selection of extreme-ultraviolet high-order laser harmonics.
abstract: The design and the characterization of a monochromator for the spectral selection of ultrashort high-order laser harmonics in the extreme ultraviolet are presented. The instrument adopts the double-grating configuration to preserve the length of the optical paths of different diffracted rays, without altering the extremely short duration of the pulse. The gratings are used in the off-plane mount to have high efficiency. The performances of the monochromator have been characterized in terms of spectral response, efficiency, photon flux, imaging properties, and temporal response. In particular, the temporal characterization of the harmonic pulses has been obtained using a cross-correlation method: Pulses as short as 8 fs have been measured at the output of the monochromators, confirming the effectiveness of the time-delay compensated configuration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for UV and X-Ray Optical Research, CNR-INFM and Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Padova 35131, Italy. poletto@dei.unipd.it
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poletto
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Villoresi
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Frassetto
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Calegari
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ferrari
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lucchini
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sansone
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nisoli