Versatile tabletop setup for picosecond time-resolved resonant soft-x-ray scattering and spectroscopy.

We present a laser-driven, bright, and broadband (50 to 1500 eV) soft-x-ray plasma source with <10 ps pulse duration. This source is employed in two complementary, laboratory-scale beamlines for time-resolved, magnetic resonant scattering and spectroscopy, as well as near-edge x-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy. In both beamlines, dedicated reflection zone plates (RZPs) are used as single optical elements to capture, disperse, and focus the soft x rays, reaching resolving powers up to E/ΔE > 1000, with hybrid RZPs at the NEXAFS beamline retaining a consistent E/ΔE > 500 throughout the full spectral range, allowing for time-efficient data acquisition.

Polycapillary-boosted instrument performance in the extreme ultraviolet regime for inverse photoemission spectroscopy: erratum.

We correct values and figures for the resolution of the spectrometer, as proposed in [Opt. Express25, 31840 (2017)10.1364/OE.

Towards Understanding Excited-State Properties of Organic Molecules Using Time-Resolved Soft X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy.

The extension of the pump-probe approach known from UV/VIS spectroscopy to very short wavelengths together with advanced simulation techniques allows a detailed analysis of excited-state dynamics in organic molecules or biomolecular structures on a nanosecond to femtosecond time level. Optical pump soft X-ray probe spectroscopy is a relatively new approach to detect and characterize optically dark states in organic molecules, exciton dynamics or transient ligand-to-metal charge transfer states. In this paper, we describe two experimental setups for transient soft X-ray absorption spectroscopy based on an LPP emitting picosecond and sub-nanosecond soft X-ray pulses in the photon energy range between 50 and 1500 eV.

Piezo-modulated active grating for selecting X-ray pulses separated by one nanosecond.

We present a novel method of temporal modulation of X-ray radiation for time resolved experiments. To control the intensity of the X-ray beam, the Bragg reflection of a piezoelectric crystal is modified using comb-shaped electrodes deposited on the crystal surface. Voltage applied to the electrodes induces a periodic deformation of the crystal that acts as a diffraction grating, splitting the original Bragg reflection into several satellites.

Highly efficient soft x-ray spectrometer for transient absorption spectroscopy with broadband table-top high harmonic sources.

We present a novel soft x-ray spectrometer for ultrafast absorption spectroscopy utilizing table-top femtosecond high-order harmonic sources. Where most commercially available spectrometers rely on spherical variable line space gratings with a typical efficiency on the order of 3% in the first diffractive order, this spectrometer, based on a Hettrick-Underwood design, includes a reflective zone plate as a dispersive element. An improved efficiency of 12% at the N K-edge is achieved, accompanied by a resolving power of 890.