Conditions for the reliable production of attosecond pulses using ultra-short laser-generated high harmonics

Abstract

We outline a simple approach for determining plateau positions in harmonic spectra that demonstrates very clearly the requirement for carrier–envelope phase and intensity stabilization in the IR laser pulse for reliable attosecond pulse production. Neglecting the phase and intensity characteristics of the laser pulse will lead to large variations in the duration and number of sub-fs pulses produced via high harmonics cut-off windowing.