Abstract
A relativistic S-polarized short pulse laser impinged obliquely on an overdense plasma thin foil is shown to produce very significant second harmonic in the direction of specular reflection. The second harmonic is P-polarized and is driven by the second harmonic ponderomotive force on electrons in the skin layer. The treatment incorporates the electron density modification by the static ponderomotive force and mass modification due to relativistic effects. The second harmonic reflected amplitude is greatest for an optimum value of the angle of incidence. The conversion efficiency of the second harmonic is greater for higher values of incident laser amplitude and lower values of electron density in the foil. The equivalence between the total ponderomotive force and the radiation pressure force is also demonstrated.
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