Preface.
Introduction. Theory and experiment of high-order harmonic generation in narrow and extended media.
I.1. High-order harmonic generation in isotropic medium: three-step model and macroscopic consideration of frequency conversion. I.2. Overview of the applications of long gaseous media for the HHG. References.
1. HHG in short-length plasmas.
1.1. Modern history and perspectives of harmonic generation in narrow plasma plumes. 1.2. Spatial coherence measurements of non-resonant and resonant high-order harmonics generated in narrow laser ablation plumes. 1.3. Resonance processes in plasma plumes. 1.4. Peculiarities of the high-order harmonics from different narrow plasmas generating at 1 kHz repetition rate. 1.5. Concluding comments. References.
2. HHG in extended plasmas.
2.1. Advanced properties of extended plasmas for efficient high-order harmonic generation. 2.2. Enhanced harmonic generation using different second-harmonic sources for the two-color pump of extended laser-produced plasmas. 2.3. Modification of modulated plasma plumes. 2.4. Characterization of the high-order harmonics of 64 fs pulses generated in extended plasma plumes. 2.5. Concluding comments. References.
3. Quasi-phase-matching of harmonics in laser-produced plasmas. 3.1. Perforated target ablation for the formation of the modulated plasma for quasi-phase-matched harmonic generation. 3.2. Quasi-phase-matching of harmonics using the variable multi-jet plasmas. 3.3. QPM-induced enhancement of HHG during two-color pump of multi-jet plasmas. 3.4. Peculiarities of QPM harmonics using different targets and pump schemes. 3.5. Influence of plasma jet sizes and pulse energies on the characteristics of QPM harmonics. 3.6. Concluding comments. References.
4. Peculiarities of the HHG in the extended plasmas produced on the surfaces of different materials.
4.1. Harmonic generation in the plasmas produced on the 5-mm-long crystal surfaces. 4.2. Application of the laser plasmas produced on the extended surfaces of elemental semiconductors. 4.3. Application of carbon cluster-contained extended plasmas for the high-order harmonic generation of ultrashort pulses. 4.4. Morphology of laser-produced carbon nanoparticle plasmas and high-order harmonic generation of ultrashort pulses in extended clustered media. 4.5. Graphene-contained extended plasma: a medium for the coherent extreme ultraviolet light generation. 4.6. Concluding comments. References.
5. New opportunities of extended plasma induced harmonic generation.
5.1. Third and fourth harmonics generation in laser-induced periodic plasmas. 5.2. Resonance-enhanced harmonics generated in nanoparticle and monomer plasmas. 5.3. Electron density measurements in laser-produced plasma using the nonlinear optical method. 5.4. Concluding comments. References. 6. Harmonic characterization using different HHG schemes.
6. 1. Characterization of the high-order harmonics generated in the extended plasmas. 6.2. Low- and high-order harmonic generation in the extended plasmas produced by laser ablation of zinc and manganese targets. 6.3 Application of double femtosecond pulses for plasma harmonic generation. 6.4. Concluding comments. References.
Summary: achievements and perspectives.
About the Author: Rashid A. Ganeev is an internationally recognized expert in the field of High Harmonic Generation (HHG) in laser ablation plasmas. In the present book, he specifically addresses the case of extended ablation plasmas as nonlinear media for HHG. The book describes the different experimental approaches, shows the advantages and limitations regarding HHG efficiency and discusses the particular processes that take place at longer interaction lengths, including propagation and quasi-phase matching effects. Several schemes have been proposed such as exploitation of a resonance between pump laser and driven matter, use of nano-molecules and metal clusters, use on modulated extended plasmas and so on.
The structure of the book follows a logical presentation of first providing an overview of HHG in short length ablation plasma plumes and introducing in the following chapters the different experimental approaches tested to generate longer plumes. The results presented are a recollection of the author´s own contributions but there are also plenty of references to publications by other actors in the field. The book shows the perspectives of further development of HHG in extended plasma plumes. It also provides an updated recollection of the subject of plasma harmonics, which will be useful for students and scholars working in this highly multidisciplinary domain encountering material science, nonlinear optics and laser spectroscopy. The present book brings the new researcher at the very frontier of the physics of the interaction between laser and extended plasma; it will serve to the expert as an essential compass to follow a predetermined path.
