HIGH-ORDER HARMONIC-GENERATION USING HIGH-POWER LASERS

An introduction to high-power lasers and strong-field laser-atom inter actions is given, and the main experimental and theoretical results co ncerning high-order harmonic generation are reviewed. The single atom response as well as the macroscopic phase-matching effect is discussed . The formation and extent of the characteristic plateau in the harmon ic spectra are discussed in terms of a physical picture valid in the t unnel-ionisation regime. Very high-order harmonics have been reported, opening the way to construct bright sources of coherent radiation in the XUV and soft X-ray ranges. Some examples of possible applications of such a source are presented.