Non-planar femtosecond enhancement cavity for VUV frequency comb applications

Abstract: External passive femtosecond enhancement cavities (fsECs) are widely used to increase the efficiency of non-linear conversion processes like high harmonic generation (HHG) at high repetition rates. Their performance is often limited by beam ellipticity, caused by oblique incidence on spherical focusing mirrors. We introduce a novel three-dimensionally folded variant of the typical planar bow-tie resonator geometry that guarantees circular beam profiles, maintains linear polarization, and allows for a significantly tighter focus as well as a larger beam cross-section on the cavity mirrors. The scheme is applied to improve focusing in a Ti:Sapphire based VUV frequency comb system, targeting the 5th harmonic around 160 nm (7.8 eV) towards high-precision spectroscopy of the low-energy isomer state of Thorium-229. It will also be beneficial in fsEC-applications with even higher seeding and intracavity power where the damage threshold of the mirrors becomes a major concern.