Recent trends in high-order harmonic generation in solids

Abstract

High-order harmonic generation in solids, the nonlinear up-conversion of coherent radiation resulting from the interaction of a strong and short laser pulse with a solid sample, has come to age. Since the first experiments and theoretical developments, there has been a constant and steady interest in this topic. In this paper, we summarize the progress made so far and propose new possibilities for the generation of high-order harmonics with the aid of plasmonic fields. The driven fields could be adequately engineered both spatially and temporally with nanometric and attosecond resolution, offering to the conventional solid-HHG novel and exciting coherent sources. Just to cite an example, the generation of attosecond pulses using bulk matter is strongly linked to the appropriate manipulation of the driven field to avoid, for instance, reaching the damage threshold of the material. Plasmonics fields as an alternative to conventional laser beams could open new avenues in the development of table-top sources of ultrashort and strong coherent radiation.

Keywords

• high-order harmonic generation in solids
• plasmonics
• ultrafast optics
• nonlinear processes