Apparatus for attosecond transient-absorption spectroscopy in the water-window soft-X-ray region

We present an apparatus for attosecond transient-absorption spectroscopy (ATAS) featuring soft-X-ray (SXR) supercontinua that extend beyond 450 eV. This instrument combines an attosecond table-top high-harmonic light source with mid-infrared (mid-IR) pulses, both driven by 1.7–1.9 mJ, sub-11 fs pulses centered at 1.76 m. A remarkably low timing jitter of ∼ 20 as is achieved through active stabilization of the pump and probe arms of the instrument. A temporal resolution of better than 400 as is demonstrated through ATAS measurements at the argon L _2,3 -edges. A spectral resolving power of 1490 is demonstrated through simultaneous absorption measurements at the sulfur L _2,3 - and carbon K-edges of OCS. Coupled with its high SXR photon flux, this instrument paves the way to attosecond time-resolved spectroscopy of organic molecules in the gas phase or in aqueous solutions, as well as thin films of advanced materials. Such measurements will advance the studies of complex systems to the electronic time scale.