Abstract
The results of a series of experiments to characterize the coherence properties of xuv radiation produced by high-order harmonic generation in helium, neon and argon are reported and compared to predictions from an effective order model. The harmonics exhibit smooth, near gaussian spatial profiles, and have a divergence that is approximately constant (< 12 mrad) in the plateau region and decreases (≈ 4 mrad) in the cutoff for f/17 focusing. For a bandwidth limited, 140 fsec incident pulse, we measure a harmonic line width of Δλ/λ ≈ 2 x 10−3 at 30.3 nm. By reducing the spectral width of the driving pulse, harmonics with Δλ/λ ≈ 2 x 10−4 can be produced. Absolute conversion efficiency as high as 10−2 for harmonic radiation as short as 20 nm has been achieved by using 400 fsec, 526 nm pulses from an Nd:Glass laser.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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