All-optical logic gates for extreme ultraviolet switching via attosecond four-wave mixing

Abstract

All-optical logic-gate-based switching is a prerequisite for photonic computing. This article introduces a logic-gate protocol for noncollinear four-wave mixing (FWM) of one attosecond extreme ultraviolet (XUV) with two few-femtosecond near infrared (NIR) pulses. Simulations show that the NIR carrier-envelope phases (CEPs) alter the spatial distribution of the XUV FWM emission, using doubly-excited states of gas-phase helium as an example. A complete set of logic gates$-$X(N)OR, (N)AND, and (N)OR$-$is realized for the 2s3p FWM signal at 63.66 eV with switching contrasts of 3.6 to 10.4. This theoretical study extends all-optical logic switching to the XUV and x-ray regimes and opens a new pathway for ultrafast photonic logic.