Optical Rotation Quasi-Phase-Matching for Circularly Polarized High Harmonic Generation

TL;DR

This paper introduces optical rotation quasi-phase-matching (ORQPM), a novel method to enhance circularly polarized high harmonic generation efficiency by matching polarization rotation to coherence length, achieving significantly improved results over traditional methods.

Contribution

The paper proposes the first scheme for quasi-phase-matching of circularly polarized high harmonic generation using optical rotation, demonstrating its efficiency advantages.

Findings

ORQPM is approximately 5 times more efficient than conventional QPM.

ORQPM is about half as efficient as true phase-matching.

The method effectively avoids destructive interference in harmonic generation.

Abstract

The first scheme for quasi-phase-matching high harmonic generation of circularly polarized radiation is proposed: optical rotation quasi-phase-matching (ORQPM). In ORQPM propagation of the driving radiation in a system exhibiting circular birefringence causes its plane of polarization to rotate; by appropriately matching the period of rotation to the coherence length it is possible to avoid destructive interference of the generated radiation. It is shown that ORQPM is approximately 5 times more efficient than conventional QPM, and half as efficient as true phase-matching.