Revealing the giant resonance in Xe via HHG with sub-two cycle 1.8 \u3bcm laser pulses

Recent advances in optical parametric amplification (OPA) based few-cycle pulse generation at 1.8 \u3bcm wavelength led to the discovery of multi-electron correlation effects in high harmonic generation (HHG), in particular the giant resonance in Xe. The novel scheme for sub-two cycle pulse generation rests upon nonlinear propagation of OPA pulses in a hollow-core fiber and subsequent compression solely by linear propagation through Fused Silica which exhibits anomalous dispersion [1]. The spectral phase introduced by self-phase modulation and self-steepening cancels material dispersion up to third order to provide an ideal laser source for HHG in gases with low ionization potential. \ua9 2011 IEEE.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye