Efficient generation of highly elliptically polarized attosecond pulses

We theoretically demonstrate a scheme to efficiently generate attosecond pulses with high ellipticity by a counter-rotating bicircular field with frequency ratio of 1 : 3 (800 + 267 nm) and 1 : 4 (1600 + 400 nm). It is shown that efficient attosecond pulses with high ellipticity of 0.54 (800 + 267 nm) and 0.79 (1600 + 400nm) can be generated. We also investigate the scaling law of high harmonic generation yield. It is shown that the intensity of the high harmonics can be increased by more than one order of magnitude in the bicircular fields with higher frequency ratios. The high ellipticity and high efficiency of high harmonics are explained by analyzing the symmetry of driving field and the classical electron trajectories.     

Inhomogeneous Double Optical Gating of High-Intensity Isolated Attosecond Pulse Generation in Crossed Metal Nanostructures

We propose and investigate an effective method for obtaining high-energy and high-intensity isolated attosecond pulses (IAPs) using the inhomogeneous double optical gating (DOG) technology in specifically designed metal nanostructures. First, using the homogeneous mid-infrared DOG technology modulated by a linearly near-infrared field, we obtain a harmonic yield of 2.5 orders of magnitudes higher than that from the single polarization gating (PG) technology. Further, introducing the crossed metal nanostructures along the driven and gating components, we can extend not only the harmonic cutoff but also enhance the harmonic yield attributed to the plasmonic field enhancement near the vicinity of metal nanostructures. As a result, we find a single harmonic plateau with smaller modulations. The supercontinuum is not very sensitive to the pulse duration of the near-infrared field, and the harmonic yields can be further enhanced with increase in the pulse intensity of the near-infrared field, showing a 108 eV supercontinuum with an intensity enhancement of 4 orders of magnitudes. Finally, by superposing the selected harmonics from the inhomogeneous DOG scheme, we obtain a 33 as SAP with an intensity increase of 4 orders of magnitudes.     

Controlling the macro- and micro-processes influenсing harmonic generation in laser-produced plasmas

We review the studies of the spatial conditions for the quasi-phase-matching in the multi-jet laserproduced silver plasma. These studies of the off-axis and on-axis spatial components of harmonics allowed the demonstration of significant enhancement of a group of harmonics in the latter case. We analyze the role of plasma emission, together with phase-mismatch, that deteriorate the conditions of high-order harmonic generation due to significant phase distortion between the interacting waves. We also discuss the resonanceinduced enhancement of single harmonic and the quasi-phase-matching-induced enhancement of the group of harmonics during propagation of the tunable mid-infrared femtosecond pulses through the perforated laser-produced indium plasma. Those studies have shown that the enhancement of harmonics using the macro-process of quasi-phase-matching is comparable with the one using micro-process of resonantly enhanced harmonic. We conclude that joint implementation of the two methods of the increase of harmonic yield could be a useful tool for generation of strong short-wavelength radiation in different spectral regions.     

Phase-matched enhancements of high-harmonic soft X-rays by adaptive wave-front control with a genetic algorithm

We demonstrate the enhancement of high-harmonic soft-X-ray generation by adaptive wave-front control of a 745-nm Ti:sapphire laser by use of a 59-channel membrane deformable mirror, combined with a genetic algorithm, for the first time to our knowledge. The harmonics ranging from 17 nm to 28 nm were enhanced by factors up to 13. The numerical calculations illustrate that the enhancements of the plateau harmonics are due to macroscopic phase-matching effect, whereas those of the cutoff harmonics are due to the increase in focal intensity. PACS 42.65.Ky     

Strong resonance enhancement of a single harmonic generated in the extreme ultraviolet range

We report the demonstration of strong resonance enhancement of a single high-order harmonic in the extreme ultraviolet (XUV) region generated from the interaction of a femtosecond pulse with low-ionized In ablation. A strong 13th harmonic (61.2 nm) of Ti:sapphire laser radiation with output intensity almost two orders of magnitude higher than neighboring harmonics was observed in these studies. The high conversion efficiency of the 13th harmonic (8 x 10(-5)) is attributed to multiple collisions of electron trajectories with the origin due to multiphoton resonance with the In ion.     

Resonance processes during harmonic generation in plasmas using mid-infrared radiation

A few recently introduced approaches of the high-order harmonic generation in laser-produced plasmas are reviewed. We show how the tuning of odd and even high-order harmonics of ultrashort pulses along the strong resonance of laser-produced indium plasma using optical parametric amplifier of white-light continuum radiation (1250?1400 nm) allows observation of different harmonics enhanced in the vicinity of the transition of In II ions possessing high oscillator strength. We discuss various peculiarities and discuss the theoretical model of the phenomenon of tunable harmonics enhancement in the region of 62 nm using indium plasma. With the theoretical analysis, we present the approach allowing reproduce the experimental observations and characterize the dynamics of the resonant harmonic emissions. We also discuss the resonance enhancement of harmonics using mid-infrared radiation in the tin, chromium, and antimony plasmas and show the calculations of this process.     

原子在两色组合激光场中产生的单个阿秒脉冲

利用分裂算符法求解含时薛定谔方程,对一维氦原子处于红外场（IR）与紫外场（UV）组合的两色激光场中产生的高次谐波进行研究,分析了由高次谐波产生的阿秒脉冲的特征. 发现在组合场中可以通过增加红外场的强度,来缩短阿秒脉冲的宽度,通过调节组合场中两束激光的时间延迟,提高一个电子轨道对谐波的贡献,而抑制另一个电子轨道的贡献,从而得到低于100 as的单个脉冲. 关键词： 强激光场 组合场 高次谐波 阿秒脉冲     

激光强度依赖的阈下谐波产生机制

利用广义伪谱方法精确数值求解了氢原子在强激光场中的三维含时薛定谔方程,获得了强激光中氢原子的含时波函数,利用时间依赖的偶极矩的傅里叶变换得到了高次谐波谱,研究了氢原子在强激光场中发射低于电离阈值的谐波谱对激光强度的依赖性.研究发现,激光强度在低于电离阈值的谐波产生的通道选择的过程中扮演着重要角色,主要有两种量子通道对阈下谐波的产生有贡献,即广义的短轨道和长轨道,其中长轨道对激光场强度比较敏感.结合小波时频变换、经典轨道分析、以及强度依赖的量子通道选择分析,本文阐明了其背后的物理机制.     

Field enhancement by semi-nanocapsule plasmonic antenna at the visible violet wavelength

We investigate, at the visible violet wavelength of 400 nm, the localized field-enhancement properties of an optical antenna consisting of two coupled metallic nanoparticles placed on the silica substrate. Compared to other shapes of optical antennas such as bowtie and coupled elliptical rods, the coupled semi-nanocapsules exhibit a stronger field-intensity enhancement in the gap and relatively weak field intensity at the outer-ends. Furthermore, the intensity enhancement of the semi-nanocapsules antenna can be further enhanced by choosing the suitable direction of illumination. These proposed structures can be used for the design and the applications of an optical antenna at the visible violet wavelength.     

Energy- and angle-resolved photoelectron spectra of above-threshold ionization and detachment

We analyze strong-laser-field induced above-threshold ionization and above-threshold detachment processes within the strong-field approximation. Energy and angular distribution of photoelectrons are presented for two cases: (1) high-order above-threshold ionization of electrons from neutral atoms by a linearly polarized laser field and (2) above-threshold detachment of electrons from negative ions by a bicircular laser field. In particular, for the case (1) we compare the results obtained using a long pulse with the flat-top spatial intensity distribution in the laser focus with the results obtained using the Gaussian distribution. We also analyze the intensity-dependent resonant-like enhancements. We show that the position and shape of these enhancements strongly depend on the atomic ground state parity. The bicircular field of the case (2) consists of two counter-rotating circularly polarized fields having the frequencies rω and sω with integer r and s. The properties of the photoelectron spectra generated by such bicircular field are illustrated using an ω–4ω example. The spectra obtained are explained in terms of the interference of partial detachment amplitudes which correspond to different complex solutions of the saddle-point equations.     

双色激光脉冲相位差对晶体发射高次谐波 的影响

通过数值求解双色激光场(基频场和二倍频场)与一维晶体相互作用的含时薛定谔方程,研究了晶体在双色激光脉冲驱动下发射高次谐波的特点.研究结果表明,晶体在双色激光脉冲驱动下发射的高次谐波第二平台强度相对于单色激光脉冲驱动下有显著提高,且随双色激光脉冲的相位差明显变化.进一步的研究发现,在双色激光脉冲其它参数保持不变的情况下,通过调节双色激光脉冲的相位差就能有效提高晶体发射高次谐波第二平台的产额,提高的幅度会随激光脉冲的宽度有所不同.     

Controlling high harmonic generation with molecular wave packets

We show that, by controlling the alignment of molecules, we can influence the high harmonic generation process. We observed strong intensity modulation and spectral shaping of high harmonics produced with a rotational wave packet in a low-density gas of N2 or O2. In N2, where the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) has sigma(g) symmetry, the maximum signal occurs when the molecules are aligned along the laser polarization while the minimum occurs when it is perpendicular. In O2, where the HOMO has pi(g) symmetry, the harmonics are enhanced when the molecules are aligned around 45 degrees to the laser polarization. The symmetry of the molecular orbital can be read by harmonics. Molecular wave packets offer a means of shaping attosecond pulses.     

利用单光子和双光子共振电离增强He原子谐波强度

理论研究了He原子在吸收紫外光子后对高次谐波的强度的影响。结果表明：当紫外光光子能量满足He原子基态与激发态的单光子和双光子共振跃迁时,谐波强度有超过2个数量级的增强。当紫外光光子能量满足He原子基态与激发态的多光子共振跃迁时,谐波强度增强明显减弱。分析电离几率表明,单、双光子共振电离在紫外共振电离中起主要作用,因此导致谐波强度的明显增强。同时,在啁啾调频场的作用下谐波截止能量也明显延伸,可以获得一个强度较高的谐波光谱连续区。选取该谐波连续区可获得脉宽为40 as的孤立脉冲。     

Generation of the wavelength-tunable XUV pulse using the two-color and three-color infrared pulses

We present an efficient method to generate an ultrashort wavelength-tunable XUV pulse by using the harmonic selec- tive enhancement scheme. The results show that by properly controlling the delay times of a two-color field or a three-color field, selective enhancement of the harmonics with photon energies between 80 eV and 315 eV can be obtained. Fur- ther, a wavelength-tunable and bandwidth-controllable XUV radiation can be obtained by Fourier transformation of these enhanced harmonics.     

Enhanced high harmonic generation from an optically prepared excited medium

We investigate high harmonics generated from rubidium atoms irradiated simultaneously by an intense 3.5 microm fundamental field and a weak cw diode laser. When 5p, 5d, and 4d excited states are populated through cascade excitation or deexcitation, orders-of-magnitude increases in harmonic yield as compared with the ground state are observed. It appears that, quite unexpectedly, the population accumulated in the 4d state alone is responsible for the observed enhancement.     

Strong enhancement and extinction of single harmonic intensity in the mid- and end-plateau regions of the high harmonics generated in weakly excited laser plasmas

Strong intensity enhancement or extinction of some single harmonics is observed in high-harmonic generation from 48 fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses propagating through preformed low-excited laser-produced plasmas of various materials (GaAs, Cr, InSb, stainless steel). The intensities of some of the harmonics in the mid- and end-plateau regions vary from ~23-fold enhancement to near disappearance compared with those of the neighboring ones. It is also shown that the observed intensity enhancement (or extinction) can be varied by controlling the chirp of the driving laser radiation.     

Enhancement of high harmonics generated by field steering of electrons in a two-color orthogonally polarized laser field

We demonstrate enhancement by 1 order of magnitude of the high-order harmonics generated in argon by combining a fundamental field at 1300 nm (10(14) W cm(-2)) and its orthogonally polarized second harmonic at 650 nm (2 × 10(13) W cm(-2)) and by controlling the relative phase between them. This extends earlier work by ensuring that the main effect is the combined field steering the electron trajectory with negligible contribution from multiphoton effects compared to the previous schemes with 800/400 nm fields. We access a broad energy range of harmonics (from 20 eV to 80 eV) at a low laser intensity (far below the ionization saturation limit) and observe deep modulation of the harmonic yield with a period of π in the relative phase. Strong field theoretical analysis reveals that this is principally due to the steering of the recolliding electron wave packet by the two-color field. Our modeling also shows that the atto chirp can be controlled, leading to production of shorter pulses.     

Strong emission from nano-iron using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy technique

In this paper, we report a strong enhanced emission from laser produced plasma in air from iron oxide nano-material in comparison with the corresponding bulk samples. The enhancement strength differs with different Nd:YAG laser harmonics wavelengths. The analysis showed that such enhancement increased exponentially with the plasma evolution time, while it declines as the laser fluence increased. Experimental data analysis clearly showed that the observed enhancement is mainly associated with the change in the plasma electron density. We claim that this strong enhanced optical emission from laser produced plasma is due to the surface plasmon resonant excitation preferably on nano-oxide materials. Such experimental findings could improve the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy sensitivity down to extremely low concentrations.     

Dramatic enhancement of high-order harmonic generation

We present a dramatic enhancement [Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 043002 (2003)] of high-order harmonic generation by simultaneous irradiation of booster harmonics. A key feature of our experiment is the use of mixed gases (Xe and He) with different ionization energies. The harmonics from Xe atoms act as a booster to increase the harmonic yield from He by a factor of 4 x 10(3). The dominance of the dramatic enhancement effect is supported by simulation with the time-dependent Schr?dinger equation as well as the observed spatial characteristic of the generated harmonics and dependence on medium conditions.     

中红外组合激光场产生低于50阿秒的单个脉冲

研究了氦离子在中红外组合激光场作用下的高次谐波辐射和孤立阿秒脉冲的产生. 研究结果表明,当主脉冲强度相对低时,谐波截止在657阶次处,形成一个宽度为287 eV的连续谱. 当主脉冲强度相对高时,可使谐波截止拓展到1795阶次,连续谱加宽到834 eV. 在两种情况下,我们实现了长量子路径选取,并且产生转换效率较高的连续谱. 特别是对于相对高的激光强度,叠加450—1590阶次内任意87 eV的谐波都可以直接得到50 as以内的单个脉冲.