GENERATION OF ULTRASHORT LIGHT-PULSES BY A RAPIDLY IONIZING THIN FOIL

A thin add dense plasma layer is created when a sufficiently strong la ser pulse impinges on a solid target. The nonlinearity introduced by t he time-dependent electron density leads to the generation of harmonic s. The pulse duration of the harmonic radiation is related to the rise time of the electron density and thus can be affected by the shape of the incident pulse and its peak field strength. Results are presented from numerical particle-in-cell simulations of an intense laser pulse interacting with a thin foil target. An analytical model that shows h ow the harmonics are created is introduced. The proposed scheme might be a promising way towards the generation of attosecond pulses.