Controlling the polarization and phase of high-order harmonics with a plasmonic metasurface

Abstract

Nanostructured surfaces, or metasurfaces, allow exquisite control of linear and nonlinear optical processes by reshaping the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electric and magnetic fields near wavelength-scale heterogeneities. Recently, metasurfaces have broken new ground in high-field attosecond science where they have been utilized to amplify the emission of high-order harmonics of femtosecond infrared laser pulses, a notoriously inefficient process, by enhancing the incident field, and to shape the emitted high harmonics in space. Here we show control of the polarization and phase of high harmonics with a plasmonic metasurface. We design and fabricate perpendicularly aligned rectangular gold antennas on a silicon crystal that generate circularly polarized deep-ultraviolet high harmonics, from a circularly polarized infrared driver, providing a simple path for achieving circular emission from patterned crystals. Our metasurface enhances the circularly polarized harmonics up to ∼ 43 times when compared to the unpatterned surface, where harmonics are quenched. Looking forward, circularly polarized high harmonics will be useful tools for sensing chiral laser–matter interactions and magnetic materials. Our approach paves the way for polarization control at even shorter, extreme ultraviolet, wavelengths.