High-order harmonic generation in the few-optical-cycle regime

Abstract

Production of high-order harmonics excited by high-intensity laser pulses is a promising tool for the generation of coherent, extreme ultraviolet radiation. Properties of such radiation source are strongly affected by temporal and spatial behavior of the driving laser pulses. In this work we describe the generation of high-order harmonics using multi-cycle and few-cycle laser pulses; the nonlinear process is characterized as a function of focusing geometry and driving pulse duration; numerical simulations of harmonic generation are compared to experimental results, allowing to single out the unique properties that arise using driving pulses in the few-optical-cycle regime.