Abstract

Though a vast number of studies have been conducted on the various properties of intense field high order harmonic radiation, there have been no studies of the actual spatial coherence of optical harmonics at short wavelengths (< 1000 Å). Measurements of harmonic far field profiles have suggested that the harmonics exhibited high coherence [1,2,3], but harmonic profile measurements alone are inadequate in determining the spatial coherence of the harmonic beam [4], To address this aspect of the harmonic generation, we have conducted a series of two-slit interference measurements on harmonics in the 270 Å to 480 Å range to determine unambiguously their spatial coherence properties.

© 1997 Optical Society of America