Observation of a Train of Attosecond Pulses from High Harmonic Generation

P. M. Paul (1) , E. S. Toma (2) , P. Breger (1) , Genevive Mullot (3) , Frederika Auge-Rochereau (3) , Philippe Balcou (3) , H. G. Muller (2) , P. Agostini (1)

1 Centre d'Etudes de Saclay
2 AMOLF - FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics
3 LOA - Laboratoire d'optique appliquée

In principle, the temporal beating of superposed high harmonics obtained by focusing a femtosecond laser pulse in a gas jet can produce a train of very short intensity spikes, depending on the relative phases of the harmonics. We present a method to measure such phases through two-photon, two-color photoionization. We found that the harmonics are locked in phase and form a train of 250-attosecond pulses in the time domain. Harmonic generation may be a promising source for attosecond time-resolved measurements.

Domains: Optics [physics.optics]

P. M. Paul, E. S. Toma, P. Breger, Genevive Mullot, Frederika Auge-Rochereau, et al.. Observation of a Train of Attosecond Pulses from High Harmonic Generation. Science, 2001, 292 (5522), pp.1689 - 1692. ⟨10.1126/science.1059413⟩. ⟨hal-00523494⟩