2.1 Ultrafast Electron Dynamics

The main objective of the project is to develop the methodology to detect quantum states of XUV light generated by strong-field interaction of light with matter. To this end we will investigate XUV light produced by the high-order parametric generation (HPG) process. This process is driven by strong laser fields, similar to the conventional high-order harmonic generation (HHG), but corresponds to simultaneous emission of two or more photons. In this respect it is similar to the spontaneous parametric downconversion (SPDC), which is conventionally used for producing non-classical (quantum) light. The method of quantum diffraction of biphotons which has been developed for conventional non-classical sources in the NIR/visible wavelength range, such as SPDC, will be extended to the XUV wavelength range. The main obstacle in transferring these methods to the XUV range is the lack of conventional beamsplitters for the XUV wavelengths. Instead, we will use blazed diffraction gratings in conical diffraction configuration, which, can serve as beamsplitters for photons of different wavelengths and which are efficient in the XUV photon energy range. Development of quantum XUV sources and methods for detection of XUV light quantum state, as proposed in this project, will open the route to expand quantum technologies, such as quantum spectroscopy and quantum imaging, to the XUV wavelength range.