Experiment for measuring high harmonics emitted from solids

High-harmonic generation in solids represents a novel scheme to probe ultrafast electron dynamics in the condensed phase.

In our experiment, the sample - typically a nanoscale thin-film on a dielectric substrate - is mounted on a four-dimensional nanopositioner, in order to accurately control the sample position with respect to the impinging laser pulse. The generated harmonic light is then imaged into a UV-VIS spectrometer. In an extension of the experiment to shorter wavelengths, a vacuum ultraviolet spectrometer will be used.