Bright, single helicity, high harmonics driven by mid-infrared bicircular laser fields
Abstract
High-harmonic generation (HHG) is a unique tabletop light source with femtosecond-to-attosecond pulse duration and tailorable polarization and beam shape. Here, we use counter-rotating femtosecond laser pulses of 0.8 µm and 2.0 μm to extend the photon energy range of circularly polarized high-harmonics and also generate single-helicity HHG spectra. By driving HHG in helium, we produce circularly polarized soft x-ray harmonics beyond 170 eV—the highest photon energy of circularly polarized HHG achieved to date. In an Ar medium, dense spectra at photon energies well beyond the Cooper minimum are generated, with regions composed of a single helicity—consistent with the generation of a train of circularly polarized attosecond pulses. Finally, we show theoretically that circularly polarized HHG photon energies can extend beyond the carbon K edge, extending the range of molecular and materials systems that can be accessed using dynamic HHG chiral spectro-microscopies.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1364/oe.440813
Entities
People
- Carlos Hernández-García
- Christian Gentry
- Daniel D Hickstein
- Dmitriy Zusin
- Henry Kapteyn
- Jennifer L. Ellis
- Kevin M Dorney
- Margaret M. Murnane
- Nathan J. Brooks
- Quynh L Nguyen
- Tingting Fan
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- European Research Council
- Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre
- Junta of Castile and León
- Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities
- National Science Foundation
- United States Department of Energy
- University of Colorado Boulder
- University of Salamanca