R. A. Ganeev

Nano-ripple formation on different band-gap semiconductor surfaces using femtosecond pulses

Nano-ripple formation from ultrashort laser pulse irradiation of semiconductors of different band gaps has been studied using a Ti-sapphire laser with 8 mJ energy, 45 fs pulse duration and 800 nm wavelength (1.5eV) at a fluence in the range of ∼100 mJ/cm2 −1J/cm2. The effects of the number of laser shots, angle of incidence, laser polarization, fluence, incident laser wavelength, bandgap, and ambient medium on the ripple period, have been studied. Depending upon the experimental parameters nano-ripple sizes varied in the range of λ-λ/9. The studies clearly show that narrower nano-ripples are formed from wide bandgap semiconductors. In addition, the width of the nano-ripples decreases with the laser wavelength and fluence. The observed results are explained considering the transient metallic nature of the semiconductor surface on irradiation with intense femtosecond pulse which excites surface plasmon leading to the nano-ripple formation. The critical role of the surface plasma electron density in deciding ripple period is identified which helps in generation of narrow sub-wavelength nano-ripples.Nano-ripple formation from ultrashort laser pulse irradiation of semiconductors of different band gaps has been studied using a Ti-sapphire laser with 8 mJ energy, 45 fs pulse duration and 800 nm wavelength (1.5eV) at a fluence in the range of ∼100 mJ/cm2 −1J/cm2. The effects of the number of laser shots, angle of incidence, laser polarization, fluence, incident laser wavelength, bandgap, and ambient medium on the ripple period, have been studied. Depending upon the experimental parameters nano-ripple sizes varied in the range of λ-λ/9. The studies clearly show that narrower nano-ripples are formed from wide bandgap semiconductors. In addition, the width of the nano-ripples decreases with the laser wavelength and fluence. The observed results are explained considering the transient metallic nature of the semiconductor surface on irradiation with intense femtosecond pulse which excites surface plasmon leading to the nano-ripple formation. The critical role of the surface plasma electron density in deciding...

Influence of C60 morphology on high-order harmonic generation enhancement in fullerene-containing plasma

The morphologies of the fullerene targets and the ablated fullerenes to determine the optimal conditions of excitation of the C60-containing targets have been analyzed. The optimization of fullerene-containing plasma conditions allowed the enhanced harmonic generation in these plasmas using laser radiation of different wavelengths, pulse durations, and phase modulation. A comparison between the harmonic generation in single-atom/ion-containing plasmas (using bulk carbon, silver, and indium targets) and fullerene-rich plasma plumes showed better conversion efficiency for the latter medium. The influence of phase modulation of the fundamental radiation in fullerene plasmas on the spectral properties of harmonics has been studied.

Carbon aerogel plumes as an efficient medium for higher harmonic generation in the 40–90 nm range

We have performed a study on the preparation, characterization, and high-order harmonic generation (HHG) of a femtosecond laser in carbon aerogel plasma plumes. A higher conversion of the femtosecond laser radiation into HHG in the range of 40–90u2009nm is observed, as compared to that in plasma plumes of silver and C60 targets, where the highest conversion efficiency has been previously reported. Next, the application of a two-color pump scheme allowed further enhancement of the harmonic yield compared to a single-color pump scheme in the carbon aerogel, for both odd and even harmonics. The conversion efficiency from the carbon aerogel plasma was estimated at not less than 5×10−5.

Resonance enhancement of single even harmonic of laser radiation in tin-containing plasma using intensity variation of two-color pump

We show that, in the case of a two-color pump, the plasma plumes of tin and tin-containing alloy targets produce an enhanced 18th harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser. More than a tenfold enhancement of the 18th harmonic compared to the neighboring harmonic orders was achieved by optimizing the position of the focal plane of the two-color pump with respect to the plasma plume. The detuning between the enhanced 17th and 18th harmonics was demonstrated by changing the focusing conditions, which allows one to manipulate the conversion efficiency of the 18th harmonic.

Variation of harmonic spectra in laser-produced plasmas at variable phase of femtosecond laser pulses of different bandwidth

The intensity enhancement of harmonics and change in harmonic profiles have been observed in a few plasma plumes (La, In, Mn) under variable phase modulation of Ti:sapphire laser pulses. It is seen that variation of relative harmonic intensities in the plateau region could be achieved by chirp variation of narrowband (~10 nm bandwidth) radiation. The effect of the self-phase modulation (SPM) of broadband (~20 nm bandwidth) laser radiation on the harmonic emission from nanoparticles, C60, and Ag plasma while passing through a glass slab is also studied. The observation of broadband harmonic emission and redshift in harmonic wavelengths for an unchirped laser pulse are explained in terms of SPM. The observation of blueshift of harmonic radiation with both positively and negatively chirped pulses was attributed to the different effects of SPM on the chirped pulses.

Systematic studies of two-color pump-induced high-order harmonic generation in plasma plumes

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) has been studied in various laser-produced plasma plumes using a two-color orthogonally polarized beam with a 12:1 energy ratio between the fundamental and second-harmonic (SH) components. The influence of the relative phase between the fundamental and SH waves on the HHG efficiency has been investigated. Odd and even harmonic generation in plasma plumes containing nanoparticles, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and other samples was optimized. The effect of the variation in the SH intensity on the HHG conversion efficiency in carbon aerogel and silver plasma plumes has also been studied. It is shown that by increasing the SH intensity, one can generate only even harmonics by suppressing the odd harmonics.

Application of carbon cluster-contained extended plasmas for the high-order harmonic generation of ultrashort pulses

We present the studies of the high-order harmonic generation of 802-nm, 64-fs pulses in the extended plasmas contained the carbon-based clusters (fullerenes, nanofibers, nanoparticles, and nanotubes). Our studies show that the 11th–19th harmonics in the 15–33u2009eV range may originate from the low-sized nanoparticles produced during ablation of large clusters and agglomerates. The conversion efficiency of the 11th harmonic generated from the 5-mm-long fullerene plasma was estimated to be 2u2009×u200910−5.

High-order harmonic generation in a plasma plume of in situ laser-produced silver nanoparticles

The results of the experimental study of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from the interaction of 45-fs Ti:sapphire laser pulses with plasma plumes of Ag nanoparticles produced in situ are presented in this article. The nanoparticles were generated by the interaction of 300-ps, 20-mJ laser pulses with bulk silver targets at an intensity of {approx}1x10{sup 13} W/cm{sup 2}. The spectral characteristics of the HHG from nanoparticles produced in situ are compared with the HHG from monoparticle plasma plumes and with the HHG from preformed nanoparticle-containing plasma plumes. The cutoff harmonic order generated using the in situ silver nanoparticles is at the 21st harmonic order.

Fourth-order harmonic generation during parametric four-wave mixing in the filaments in ambient air

We propose a simplified scheme for efficient 200-nm pulse generation in isotropic medium using 800-nm radiation. The observation and optimization of the fourth-order harmonic generation during two-color filamentation in air are reported. This parametric process is based on four-wave mixing of the fundamental and the second-order harmonic radiation of the Ti:sapphire laser. A systematic study of the influence of the laser intensity, the polarization, the chirp, and the pulse duration on the fourth-order harmonic output from the filaments has been carried out. The fourth-order harmonic conversion efficiency was estimated to be of the order of 10{sup -4}.

Particular features of higher harmonics generation in nanocluster-containing plasmas using single- and two-color pumps

The wavelength conversion of femtosecond laser pulses in laser plasmas containing clusters of different nature and dimension (fullerenes, metal nanoparticles) is studied. Pulses of a titanium-sapphire laser are used in combination with orthogonally polarized second-harmonic pulses as radiation to be converted. Variations in the generation efficiency of higher harmonics are analyzed under conditions of phase-modulated pulses. It is shown that the optimization of components of a nonlinear optical plasma medium, of plasma excitation conditions by single- and two-color pumps, and of phase and spectral parameters of radiation to be converted leads to a considerable increase in the generation efficiency of higher harmonics.