Compression of attosecond harmonic pulses by extreme-ultraviolet chirped mirrors

International audienceIn the race toward attosecond pulses, for which high-order harmonics generated in rare gases are the best candidates, both the harmonic spectral range and the spectral phase have to be controlled. We demonstrate that multilayer extreme-ultraviolet chirped mirrors can be numerically optimized and designed to compensate for the intrinsic harmonic chirp that was recently discovered and that is responsible for temporal broadening of pulses. A simulation shows that an optimized mirror is capable of compressing the duration from 260 to 90 as. This new technique is an interesting solution because of its ability to cover a wider spectral range than other technical devices that have already been proposed to overcome the chirp of high harmonics