Strong Field Interactions of Clusters and Solids in the Low Frequency Limit
Abstract
The interaction of intense laser light with atoms and molecules has been area of extreme activity for the last 40 years. In fact, the depth of understanding is so advanced that it has become a launch point for several important applications like x-ray generation, formation of attosecond pulse, laser-driven particle acceleration and remote sensing, all of which intersect DoD interest. Although the intense laser-atom interaction is well understood, significantly less is known concerning extended systems, such as nanoparticles and solids. One impetus for exploration is that materials bring a new dimension to the interaction, the ability to engineer the target while increasing the number density. These benefits could result in more efficient energy conversion and yield into charged particles and energetic photons, and new metrology. The proposed work will address strong field interactions in extended systems along two thrusts that utilize long wavelength lasers. In the first thrust, energetic electron, ion and photon distributions resulting from the interaction of clusters with intense mid-infrared (MIR: 1-4 μm) pulses are measured. One question we will address is how does the electron s energy couple and influence the evolution of the ion distribution in time and space. A second thrust explores the strong field nonlinear behavior of extended systems such as semiconductors and dielectric thin-film materials. The observable is the emission of a comb of high harmonic light and our approach utilizes a novel pump-probe geometry using synchronized MIR and terahertz fields. In this scenario the MIR pulse duration (50 fs) is only a fraction of the THz cycle (2 ps), thus the during the interaction the THz acts as a quasi-dc field breaking the symmetry of the system. We will characterize the HHG emission as a function of intensity, polarization and delay.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Dec 08, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502110415
Entities
People
- Louis F. DiMauro
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Ohio State University
- United States Air Force