Isolated attosecond pulse generation in a semi-infinite gas cell driven by time-gated phase matching
Isolated attosecond pulse (IAP) generation usually involves the use of short-medium gas cells operated at high pressures. In contrast, long-medium schemes at low pressures are commonly perceived as inherently unsuitable for IAP generation due to the nonlinear phenomena that challenge favourable phase-matching conditions. Here we provide clear experimental evidence on the generation of isolated extreme-ultraviolet attosecond pulses in a semi-infinite gas cell, demonstrating the use of extended-medium geometries for effective production of IAPs. To gain a deeper understanding we develop a simulation method for high-order harmonic generation (HHG), which combines nonlinear propagation with macroscopic HHG solving the 3D time-dependent Schrödinger equation at the single-atom level. Our simulations reveal that the nonlinear spatio-temporal reshaping of the driving field, observed in the experiment as a bright plasma channel, acts as a self-regulating mechanism boosting the phase-matching conditions for the generation of IAPs.
Authors
- Roberto Boyero-García (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9475-9442)
- Yingxuan Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8152-2334)
- Julio San Román (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2645-7039)
- M. Nisoli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2309-732X)
- Hans Jakob Wörner
- Matteo Lucchini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6476-100X)
- Cord L. Arnold (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4249-411X)
- Elisa Appi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3628-3543)
- Lorenzo Colaizzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6693-5675)
- Enrique Conejero Jarque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5328-6714)
- Marina Fernández Galán (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3047-1244)
- Carlos Hernández-García (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6153-2647)
- Rocío Borrego‐Varillas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4499-0558)
- Federico Vismarra (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2348-2749)
- Maurizio Reduzzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2353-1210)
- Víctor Wilfried Segundo
- Javier Serrano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2093-2000)
- Marta Pini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3772-4542)
- Lorenzo Mai
Institutions
- Universidad de Salamanca (ES)
- Lund University (SE)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Istituto di Fotonica e Nanotecnologie (IT)
- Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Light Science & Applications
- Published
- 2024-08-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41377-024-01564-5
- Citations
- 17
- Primary Topic
- Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 5.74
Funders
- European Commission