Abstract

In recent work, we have demonstrated that ionization-induced harmonic generation in gasses is a useful source of very short duration pulses in the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet. Using millijoule-energy, 25 fs driving pulses at 800 nm wavelength, we can obtain a third harmonic pulse duration of under 16 fs, measured using the technique of self-diffraction frequency resolved optical gating. Microjoule pulse energy and milliwatt average power can be produced, and the conversion efficiency can be optimized by adjusting the chirp of the input pulse.

© 1996 Optical Society of America