High-order harmonic generation and other intense optical field-matter interactions: review of recent experimental and theoretical advances

Abstract An overview of recent experimental and theoretical developments in high-order harmonic generation (HHG), above threshold ionization (ATI), and other phenomena originating in intense optical field-matter interactions, is attempted here. A recurring theme in this review is the common bond between HHG, ATI, laser-assisted Auger decay, and the laser-assisted photoelectric effect, which is attributable solely to the photon field–electron interaction. It is argued that the dominant mechanism for photon production in HHG is not the recombination of an ion with a fast electron but rather is the result of coupling between the optical field and an electron that generates photons having energies that are an integral multiple of the pump photon energy. Characterized and steadily developed over the past decade, HHG and its attendant technology have matured to the extent that it now offers a versatile, table top source of coherent radiation in the vacuum ultraviolet to X-ray spectral regions with the capability of producing pulse widths as short as several hundred attoseconds. Combined with its comparative simplicity, the availability of average powers exceeding 1 mW from a single (plateau) harmonic at pulse repetition frequencies >1 kHz make HHG an attractive alternative to other nonlinear sources requiring tunable dye lasers and metal vapors. Emphasis is placed on the optical and spatial characteristics of the harmonic radiation and their potential impact on quantum electronics.

[1]  Jorge J. Rocca,et al.  Measurement of the spatial coherence buildup in a discharge pumped table-top soft x-ray laser , 1997 .

[2]  J. Crane,et al.  High-field harmonic generation in helium. , 1992, Optics letters.

[3]  Guillaume Petite,et al.  Free-Free Transitions Following Six-Photon Ionization of Xenon Atoms , 1979 .

[4]  Becker,et al.  Above-threshold ionization by an elliptically polarized field: interplay between electronic quantum trajectories , 2000, Physical review letters.

[5]  J. F. Young,et al.  Third-harmonic generation in phase-matched Rb vapor. , 1971 .

[6]  Hata,et al.  Coherent soft-x-ray generation by the harmonics of an ultrahigh-power KrF laser. , 1991, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[7]  J. Stamper,et al.  Harmonic generation in Nd : laser-produced plasmas , 1977 .

[8]  C. Wahlström,et al.  Phase-locked high-order harmonic sources , 1997 .

[9]  K. Hong,et al.  Coherent control of high-order harmonics with chirped femtosecond laser pulses. , 2001, Physical review letters.

[10]  I. Christov,et al.  Shaped-pulse optimization of coherent emission of high-harmonic soft X-rays , 2000, Nature.

[11]  R W Falcone,et al.  Multiterawatt, 100-fs laser. , 1991, Optics letters.

[12]  S. Silvestri,et al.  Compression of high-energy laser pulses below 5 fs. , 1997, Optics letters.

[13]  P. Bucksbaum,et al.  The ponderomotive potential of high intensity light and its role in the multiphoton ionization of atoms , 1988 .

[14]  D. Forslund,et al.  Plasma mechanism for ultraviolet harmonic radiation due to intense CO/sub 2/ light , 1982 .

[15]  Muller,et al.  Observation of laser-assisted Auger decay in argon. , 1994, Physical review letters.

[16]  High harmonic generation at 1 kHz repetition rate with a pulsed valve , 2001 .

[17]  H. Walther,et al.  ABOVE-THRESHOLD IONIZATION BY AN ELLIPTICALLY POLARIZED FIELD : QUANTUM TUNNELING INTERFERENCES AND CLASSICAL DODGING , 1998 .

[18]  T. Mocek,et al.  Enhancement of soft x-ray emission from a cryogenically cooled Ar gas jet irradiated by 25 fs laser pulse , 2000 .

[19]  Alexander L Gaeta,et al.  Pulse contrast enhancement of high-energy pulses by use of a gas-filled hollow waveguide. , 2002, Optics letters.

[20]  Yang,et al.  Intensity-dependent scattering rings in high order above-threshold ionization. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[21]  P. Bucksbaum,et al.  Investigations of above-threshold ionization using subpicosecond laser pulses , 1991 .

[22]  Sheehy,et al.  Elastic Rescattering in the Strong Field Tunneling Limit. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[23]  B. Carré,et al.  Theory of high-order harmonic generation by an elliptically polarized laser field. , 1996, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[24]  M. Kushner,et al.  Plasma physics issues in gas discharge laser development , 1991 .

[25]  Gerber,et al.  Control of chemical reactions by feedback-optimized phase-shaped femtosecond laser pulses , 1998, Science.

[26]  U. Kleineberg,et al.  Steering Attosecond Electron Wave Packets with Light , 2002, Science.

[27]  G. Lanzani,et al.  Ultra-fast spectroscopy and extreme nonlinear optics by few-optical-cycle laser pulses , 2000 .

[28]  D. Forslund,et al.  Visible harmonic emission as a way of measuring profile steepening , 1981 .

[29]  J. Wildenauer.  Generation of the ninth, eleventh, and fifteenth harmonics of iodine laser radiation , 1987 .

[30]  Stationary solutions for an electron in an intense laser field. II. Multimode case , 1992 .

[31]  P. Corkum,et al.  Plasma perspective on strong field multiphoton ionization. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[32]  Kapteyn,et al.  Enhanced high-harmonic generation using 25 fs laser pulses. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[33]  Ferenc Krausz,et al.  Generation of Coherent X-rays in the Water Window Using 5-Femtosecond Laser Pulses , 1997 .

[34]  D. Charalambidis,et al.  OBSERVATION OF ATTOSECOND LIGHT LOCALIZATION IN HIGHER ORDER HARMONIC GENERATION , 1999 .

[35]  Y. Silberberg.  Laser science: Physics at the attosecond frontier , 2001, Nature.

[36]  Glover,et al.  Observation of laser assisted photoelectric effect and femtosecond high order harmonic radiation. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[37]  Perry,et al.  High-order harmonic generation in atom clusters. , 1996, Physical Review Letters.

[38]  Hyun Joon Shin,et al.  Nonadiabatic blueshift of high-order harmonics from Ar and Ne atoms in an intense femtosecond laser field , 2001 .

[39]  N. H. Burnett,et al.  Harmonic generation in CO2 laser target interaction , 1977 .

[40]  Ivanov,et al.  Theory of high-harmonic generation by low-frequency laser fields. , 1994, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[41]  P Villoresi,et al.  Compensation of optical path lengths in extreme-ultraviolet and soft-x-ray monochromators for ultrafast pulses. , 1999, Applied optics.

[42]  Schafer,et al.  Calculations of high-order harmonic-generation processes in xenon at 1064 nm. , 1992, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[43]  High-order harmonic generation in argon by elliptically polarized picosecond dye laser pulses , 1994 .

[44]  P. Balcou,et al.  Observation of a Train of Attosecond Pulses from High Harmonic Generation , 2001, Science.

[45]  Osvaldo Daniel Cortázar,et al.  Demonstration of a Discharge Pumped Table-Top Soft-X-Ray Laser [Phys. Rev. Lett. 73, 2192 (1994)] , 1994 .

[46]  M. Murnane,et al.  Phase-matched generation of coherent soft X-rays , 1998, Science.

[47]  Andrzej Bartnik,et al.  Generation of bright low-divergence high-order harmonics in a long gas jet , 2002 .

[48]  P. Villoresi,et al.  Tunable soft-x-ray radiation by high-order harmonic generation , 1999 .

[49]  Selection of high-order harmonics from a single quantum path for the generation of an attosecond pulse train , 2001 .

[50]  L'Huillier,et al.  Phase of the atomic polarization in high-order harmonic generation. , 1995, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[51]  G. Mourou,et al.  100-fs pulse generation and amplification in Ti:Al 2 O 3 , 1991 .

[52]  C. Rhodes,et al.  Observation of harmonics in the visible and ultraviolet created in CO/sub 2/ laser-produced plasmas , 1981 .

[53]  Gordon,et al.  High-order harmonic generation using intense femtosecond pulses. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[54]  H. Hasegawa,et al.  High-throughput, high-damage-threshold broadband beam splitter for high-order harmonics , 2004, InternationalQuantum Electronics Conference, 2004. (IQEC)..

[55]  E. Takahashi,et al.  Generation of highly coherent submicrojoule soft x rays by high-order harmonics , 2002 .

[56]  Hyun Joon Shin,et al.  Generation of nonadiabatic blueshift of high harmonics in an intense femtosecond laser field , 1999 .

[57]  Experimental investigation of the ellipticity dependence of high-harmonic generation and ionization in argon in the multiphoton regime , 1995 .

[58]  Polarization effects and the role of above-threshold ionization photoelectrons in high-order harmonic generation: comparison of experiment with quantum electrodynamic theory , 1999 .

[59]  Hutchinson,et al.  Spatial Coherence Measurement of Soft X-Ray Radiation Produced by High Order Harmonic Generation. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[60]  Burke,et al.  Observation of nonlinear effects in Compton scattering. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[61]  L'Huillier,et al.  Coherence control of high-order harmonics. , 1995, Physical review letters.

[62]  Temporal Coherence of Ultrashort High-Order Harmonic Pulses , 1998 .

[63]  G. Mourou,et al.  Terawatt to Petawatt Subpicosecond Lasers , 1994, Science.

[64]  Henry C. Kapteyn,et al.  High-Harmonic Generation of Attosecond Pulses in the ``Single-Cycle'' Regime , 1997 .

[65]  L'Huillier,et al.  High-order harmonic generation in rare gases with an intense short-pulse laser. , 1993, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[66]  J. Rost,et al.  Irregular orbits generate higher harmonics. , 1999, physics/9903036.

[67]  Kapteyn,et al.  Nonadiabatic Effects in High-Harmonic Generation with Ultrashort Pulses. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[68]  S. Harris,et al.  Proposed Third‐Harmonic Generation in Phase‐Matched Metal Vapors , 1971 .

[69]  J. Eden.  Tunable coherent vacuum ultraviolet radiation and its application to molecular spectroscopy: The seminal contributions of Professor B.P. Stoicheff , 2000 .

[70]  Katsumi Midorikawa,et al.  Generation of 10- microJ coherent extreme-ultraviolet light by use of high-order harmonics. , 2002, Optics letters.

[71]  J. Eden,et al.  Transitions between Stationary States of the Electron-Photon Field System , 2000 .

[72]  Eric M. Gullikson,et al.  Coherent Soft X-ray Generation in the Water Window with Quasi-Phase Matching , 2003, Science.

[73]  O. Svelto,et al.  Generation of high-energy 10-fs pulses by a new pulse compression technique , 1996, Summaries of papers presented at the Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics.

[74]  V. Mitev,et al.  Direct ninth harmonic conversion of picosecond laser pulses , 1977 .

[75]  Peatross,et al.  Intensity-dependent atomic-phase effects in high-order harmonic generation. , 1995, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[76]  L'Huillier,et al.  Attosecond Pulse Trains Using High-Order Harmonics. , 1996, Physical review letters.

[77]  M. A. Biondi,et al.  Dissociative recombination in xenon: Variation of the total rate coefficient and excited-state production with electron temperature , 1977 .

[78]  M M Murnane,et al.  Intense 8-fs pulse generation in the deep ultraviolet. , 1999, Optics letters.

[79]  M. Lewenstein,et al.  Polarization of high-order harmonics , 1997 .

[80]  Bruzzese,et al.  Spectral features and modeling of high-order harmonics generated by sub-10-fs pulses , 2000, Physical review letters.

[81]  Paolo Villoresi,et al.  High-order laser harmonics detection in the EUV and soft x-ray spectral regions , 2001 .

[82]  Ferenc Krausz,et al.  Coherent 0.5-keV X-ray emission from helium driven by a sub-10-fs laser , 1998 .

[83]  L'Huillier,et al.  High-order harmonic generation in rare gases with a 1-ps 1053-nm laser. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[84]  L. A. Lompré,et al.  Multiple-harmonic generation in rare gases at high laser intensity. , 1989 .

[85]  M. Lewenstein,et al.  Angular distributions of high-order harmonics generated by a femtosecond laser , 1996 .

[86]  D. Garzella,et al.  OPTIMIZING HIGH HARMONIC GENERATION IN ABSORBING GASES : MODEL AND EXPERIMENT , 1999 .

[87]  A. Smith,et al.  High-efficiency, energy-scalable, coherent 130-nm source by four-wave mixing in Hg vapor. , 1988, Optics letters.

[88]  K. Midorikawa,et al.  Highly Efficient, Phase-Matched High-Harmonic Generation by a Self-Guided Laser Beam , 1999 .

[89]  Wood,et al.  High intensity above-threshold ionization of He. , 1993, Physical review letters.

[90]  M M Murnane,et al.  Ultrabroadband phase-matched optical parametric generation in the ultraviolet by use of guided waves. , 1997, Optics letters.

[91]  Falcone,et al.  Observation of a short-wavelength laser pumped by Auger decay. , 1986, Physical review letters.

[92]  Randy A. Bartels,et al.  Generation of Spatially Coherent Light at Extreme Ultraviolet Wavelengths , 2002, Science.

[93]  Jorge J. Rocca,et al.  Table-top soft x-ray lasers , 1999, CLEO 2016.

[94]  S. Backus,et al.  Quasi-phase-matched generation of coherent extreme-ultraviolet light , 2003, Nature.

[95]  T. Kanai,et al.  Phase-matched enhancements of high-harmonic soft X-rays by adaptive wave-front control with a genetic algorithm , 2004 .

[96]  G. New,et al.  Optical Third-Harmonic Generation in Gases , 1967 .

[97]  Ivanov,et al.  Coulomb corrections and polarization effects in high-intensity high-harmonic emission. , 1996, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[98]  A. Weingartshofer,et al.  Direct Observation of Multiphoton Processes in Laser-Induced Free-Free Transitions , 1977 .

[99]  I. Christov.  Enhanced generation of attosecond pulses in dispersion-controlled hollow-core fiber , 1999 .

[100]  R. Hodgson,et al.  Tunable coherent vacuum-ultraviolet generation in atomic vapors , 1974 .

[101]  Pulse Compression of a High-Order Harmonic by Compensating the Atomic Dipole Phase , 1999 .

[102]  P. Bucksbaum,et al.  Controlling the shape of a quantum wavefunction , 1999, Nature.

[103]  Ferenc Krausz,et al.  X-ray Pulses Approaching the Attosecond Frontier , 2001, Science.

[104]  Henry C. Kapteyn,et al.  GENERATION OF COHERENT SOFT X RAYS AT 2.7 NM USING HIGH HARMONICS , 1997 .

[105]  Miyazaki,et al.  High-order harmonic generation in the tunneling regime. , 1995, Physical review. A, Atomic, molecular, and optical physics.

[106]  J. Eden,et al.  Interpretation of high-order harmonic generation in terms of transitions between quantum Volkov states , 2000 .