Towards Attosecond Pulses with High Harmonics

• Authors: P. Agostini , P. Paul , P. Breger , E. Toma , H. Muller , G. Mullot , F. Augé , Ph. Balcou
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

The high harmonics produced by focusing an intense femtosecond laser in a gas are theoretically shown to be locked in phase. The physics of this locking is discussed and a new method based on quantum interference in two-photon, two-color ionization allowing to retrieve the relative phase of harmonic pairs is described. The main result is that the 5 harmonics of orders 11-19 produced in argon generate a train of subfemtosecond pulses with a period of 1.35 fs and a duration of 250 attoseconds.

Keywords

EN

42.65.Re; 42.65.Ky; 32.80.Rm; 33.60.Cv

Discipline

• 42.65.Re: Ultrafast processes; optical pulse generation and pulse compression(for ultrafast spectroscopy, see 78.47.J-; for ultrafast magnetization dynamics, see 75.78.Jp)
• 32.80.Rm: Multiphoton ionization and excitation to highly excited states
• 42.65.Ky: Frequency conversion; harmonic generation, including higher-order harmonic generation(see also 42.79.Nv Optical frequency converters)

• Journal: Acta Physica Polonica A
• Year: 2002
• Volume: 101
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 313-324

Dates

published

2002-03

received

2001-06-20

Contributors

author

P. Agostini

• Commissariatá l'Energie Atomique, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France

author

P. Paul

• Commissariatá l'Energie Atomique, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France

author

P. Breger

• Commissariatá l'Energie Atomique, Centre d'Etudes de Saclay, 91191 Gif sur Yvette, France

author

E. Toma

• FOM AMOLF, Kruislaan 407, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

author

H. Muller

• FOM AMOLF, Kruislaan 407, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands

author

G. Mullot

• Laboratoire d'Optique Appliquée, ENSTA, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS UMR, 7639 91761 Palaiseau Cedex, France

author

F. Augé

• Laboratoire d'Optique Appliquée, ENSTA, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS UMR, 7639 91761 Palaiseau Cedex, France

author

Ph. Balcou

• Laboratoire d'Optique Appliquée, ENSTA, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS UMR, 7639 91761 Palaiseau Cedex, France

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Identifiers

DOI

10.12693/APhysPolA.101.313