Energy-scalable single-burst attosecond emission at kiloelectronvolt photon energies

RESUMO

Attosecond soft-X-ray pulses at kiloelectronvolt photon energies would provide direct access to the L-edges of transition metals, enabling element-specific studies of charge, spin, and orbital dynamics on their intrinsic timescales. However, attosecond emission in this spectral region has remained elusive because the only phase-matched keV high-harmonic source demonstrated to date employed multicycle driving pulses without carrier-envelope-phase (CEP) control. A long-standing gap has therefore persisted between keV photon energies and CEP-controlled attosecond emission. Here, we bridge this gap using a CEP-stabilized mid-infrared laser system with pulse durations tunable to the sub-cycle regime. Through phase-matched highharmonic generation in low-pressure neutral helium under meter-scale loose-focusing conditions, we generate coherent soft-X-ray continua reaching 1.2 keV. Crucially, we observe CEP-dependent spectral modulation that reaches into the transition-metal L-edge region, providing experimental evidence consistent with the generation of isolated attosecond pulses. To demonstrate the capabilities of our source, we perform broadband soft-X-ray absorption spectroscopy spanning the Ti, Fe, Co, and Ni L-edges, as well as the O K-edge, and resolve near-edge fine structures. By combining meter-scale loose focusing with low-pressure phase matching, our approach addresses key energy-scaling limitations of previous keV high-harmonic sources and establishes a phase-matched, CEP-controlled keV soft-X-ray platform for attosecond spectroscopy of magnetic, quantum, and strongly correlated materials.