Intense Mid-infrared Fields Research Articles

High-order harmonic generations in intense MIR fields by cascade three-wave mixing in a fractal-poled LiNbO3 photonic crystal.

We report on the generation of harmonic-like photon upconversion in a LiNbO3-based nonlinear photonic crystal by mid-infrared (MIR) femtosecond laser pulses. We study below bandgap harmonics of various driver wavelengths, reaching up to the 11th order at 4μm driver with 13% efficiency. We compare our results to numerical simulations based on two mechanisms: cascade three-wave mixing and non-perturbative harmonic generation, both of which include quasi-phase matching. The cascade model reproduces well the general features of the observed spectrum, including a plateau-like harmonic distribution and the observed efficiency. This has the potential for providing a source of tabletop few femtosecond ultraviolet pulses.

Reexamination of wavelength scaling of harmonic yield in intense midinfrared fields

We theoretically investigate harmonic generation driven by intense midinfrared lasers. A valleylike structure is observed at very low-order harmonics because of a low-energy photoelectron suppression effect. Further, at the beginning of a broad supercontinuum, a convex structure appears that is distributed from the tail in a very narrow energy band in time-frequency maps. Surprisingly, our quantum dynamics calculations demonstrate the beneficial wavelength scaling of the harmonic yield to be ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}^{4.6}$ for He and ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}^{5.1}$ for Ne over selected energy windows. The bandwidth of the harmonic plateau with only a single quantum trajectory contribution can be further extended by adding a controlling laser field, and the harmonic efficiency is found to be significantly enhanced after macroscopic propagation. In addition, ultrashort isolated attosecond pulses can be obtained by properly superposing the harmonics in the plateaus of both the He and Ne systems.

Scaling of Wave-Packet Dynamics in an Intense Midinfrared Field

A theoretical investigation is presented that examines the wavelength scaling from near-visible (0.8 micro m) to midinfrared (2 micro m) of the photoelectron distribution and high harmonics generated by a "single" atom in an intense electromagnetic field. The calculations use a numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation (TDSE) in argon and the strong-field approximation in helium. The scaling of electron energies (lambda2), harmonic cutoff (lambda2), and attochirp (lambda -1) agree with classical mechanics, but it is found that, surprisingly, the harmonic yield follows a lambda -(5-6) scaling at constant intensity. In addition, the TDSE results reveal an unexpected contribution from higher-order returns of the rescattering electron wave packet.

Absence of exciton quenching in the presence of strong fields at high frequencies

We have studied the response of excitons in a multiple quantum-well structure under the presence of intense midinfrared fields. Peak fields (∼ 10 6 V/cm, in the plane of quantum wells) that would cause exciton quenching at low frequencies (up to ∼GHz) are observed to have no significant quenching effect on the exciton resonance when applied at ∼100 THz. We attribute this lack of quenching to the short period of the strong, high-frequency field compared to the exciton response time.