Generation of broad XUV continuous high harmonic spectra and isolated attosecond pulses with intense mid-infrared lasers

Abstract

We present experimental results showing the appearance of a near-continuum in the high-order harmonic generation spectra of atomic and molecular species as the driving laser intensity of a mid-infrared pulse increases. Detailed macroscopic simulations reveal that these near-continuum spectra are capable of producing isolated attosecond pulses (IAPs) in the far field if a proper spatial filter is applied. Further, our simulations show that the near-continuum spectra and the IAPs are a product of the strong temporal and spatial reshaping (blue shift and defocusing) of the driving field. This offers a possibility of producing IAPs with a broad range of photon energy, including plateau harmonics, by mid-IR laser pulses even without carrier-envelope phase stabilization.