Spatial Properties of High-Order Harmonic Beams from Plasma Mirrors: A Ptychographic Study

A. Leblanc (1) , S. Monchocé (1) , H. Vincenti (1, 2) , S. Kahaly (1) , J.-L. Vay (2) , F. Quéré (1)

1 LIDyl - Laboratoire Interactions, Dynamiques et Lasers (ex SPAM)
2 LBNL - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory [Berkeley]

Spatial properties of high-order harmonic beams produced by high-intensity laser-matter interactions carry rich information on the physics of the generation process, and their detailed understanding is essential for applications of these light beams. We present a thorough study of these properties in the case of harmonic generation from plasma mirrors, up to the relativistic interaction regime. $In\ situ$ ptychographic measurements of the amplitude and phase spatial profiles of the different harmonic orders in the target plane are presented, as a function of the key interaction parameters. These measurements are used to validate analytical models of the harmonic spatial phase in different generation regimes, and to benchmark ultrahigh-order Maxwell solvers of particle-in-cell simulation codes.

Domains: Theoretical and/or physical chemistry; Mechanics of materials [physics.class-ph]; Chemical Physics [physics.chem-ph]

A. Leblanc, S. Monchocé, H. Vincenti, S. Kahaly, J.-L. Vay, et al.. Spatial Properties of High-Order Harmonic Beams from Plasma Mirrors: A Ptychographic Study. Physical Review Letters, 2017, 119, pp.155001. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.119.155001⟩. ⟨cea-02277333⟩