Extreme Ultraviolet Frequency Comb (IMAGE)

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)

Extreme Ultraviolet Frequency Comb

Caption

This is an artist's conception of JILA's extreme ultraviolet (EUV) frequency comb. The original light source is a pulsed infrared laser, which is used to create a train of attosecond-long pulse bursts at EUV wavelengths (the bright white spot in the distance). Each of the resulting "harmonics" -- strong signals at regular fractions of the original infrared wavelength -- has its own set of "teeth" marking individual frequencies (series of adjacent white lines in the foreground), creating a frequency comb within each harmonic. To prove the new structure exists, JILA scientists observed a tooth interacting with argon atoms, indicated by the glowing atom symbol in the center foreground.

Credit

Baxley/JILA

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