High-order harmonic generation in nanoparticle-containing laser-produced plasmas

Abstract

Nanoparticle-containing media can be used for the efficient high-order harmonic generation (HHG) of laser radiation in the extreme ultraviolet range. We review the results of recent studies of the HHG in laser-produced plasmas containing Ag, Au, Pd, Pt, Ru, GaN, BaTiO3, and SrTiO3 nanoparticles. The harmonics of femtosecond radiation up to the 55th order were achieved using the nanoparticle-containing plumes, when the femtosecond radiation propagated through the preformed plasma. These results are compared with the high-order harmonics generated from the plasma produced on the surface of bulk targets at different delays between the subnanosecond heating prepulse and femtosecond pulse. We discuss a six-fold enhancement of the HHG yield, which was achieved in the case of nanoparticle-containing plumes with regard to the monoparticle-containing plasmas.