High order harmonic generation in noble gases using plasmonic field enhancement

TL;DR

This paper investigates how plasmonic field enhancement in nanostructures influences high-order harmonic generation in noble gases, revealing extended harmonic cutoffs due to nonhomogeneous laser fields.

Contribution

It introduces a theoretical model showing the significant impact of nonhomogeneous plasmonic fields on HHG, extending harmonic cutoff predictions.

Findings

Nonhomogeneous plasmonic fields enhance HHG efficiency.

Harmonic cutoff extends significantly with field nonhomogeneity.

Theoretical models align with classical and semiclassical calculations.

Abstract

We present theoretical studies of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) in rare gases driven by plasmonic field enhancement. This kind of fields appears when plasmonic nanostructures are illuminated by an intense few-cycle laser and have a particular spatial dependency, depending on the geometrical shape of the nanostructure. We demonstrate that the strong nonhomogeneous character of the laser enhanced field plays an important role in the HHG process and significantly extends the harmonic cutoff. Our models are based on numerical solution of the time dependent Schroedinger equation (TDSE) and supported by classical and semiclassical calculations.