Generation of even and odd high harmonics in resonant metasurfaces using single and multiple ultra-intense laser pulses

• Published in: Nature communications Vol. 12; no. 1; p. 4185
• Main Authors: Shcherbakov, Maxim R., Zhang, Haizhong, Tripepi, Michael, Sartorello, Giovanni, Talisa, Noah, AlShafey, Abdallah, Fan, Zhiyuan, Twardowski, Justin, Krivitsky, Leonid A., Kuznetsov, Arseniy I., Chowdhury, Enam, Shvets, Gennady
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 07.07.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 142/126; 147/135; 639/301/357/1015; 639/624/400/385; 639/624/400/3923; 639/766/1130/2799; Gallium; Gallium phosphides; Harmonic generations; Humanities and Social Sciences; Infrared lasers; Laser damage; Lasers; Metasurfaces; multidisciplinary; Optics; Reabsorption; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 2041-1723; 2041-1723
• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24450-9

High harmonic generation (HHG) opens a window on the fundamental science of strong-field light-mater interaction and serves as a key building block for attosecond optics and metrology. Resonantly enhanced HHG from hot spots in nanostructures is an attractive route to overcoming the well-known limitations of gases and bulk solids. Here, we demonstrate a nanoscale platform for highly efficient HHG driven by intense mid-infrared laser pulses: an ultra-thin resonant gallium phosphide (GaP) metasurface. The wide bandgap and the lack of inversion symmetry of the GaP crystal enable the generation of even and odd harmonics covering a wide range of photon energies between 1.3 and 3 eV with minimal reabsorption. The resonantly enhanced conversion efficiency facilitates single-shot measurements that avoid material damage and pave the way to study the controllable transition between perturbative and non-perturbative regimes of light-matter interactions at the nanoscale. Strong nonlinearities, like high harmonic generation in optical systems, can lead to interesting applications in photonics. Here the authors fabricate a thin resonant gallium phosphide metasurface capable of avoiding the laser-induced damage and demonstrate efficient even and odd high harmonic generation from it when driven by mid-infrared laser pulses.