Application of optimized waveforms for enhancing high-harmonic yields in a three-color laser-field synthesizer

We apply the optimization method suggested by Jin et al. [Nat. Commun. 5.4003 (2014)] to a three-color laser-field synthesizer in a recent experiment by Burger et al. [Opt. Express 25(25), 31130 (2017)] for efficient high-order harmonic generation (HHG). With the experimental laser parameters being precisely tuned according to those returned by the genetic optimization, the three-color waveform composed by a 790-nm laser with its second and third harmonic fields, can enhance the macroscopic HHG yields by one to two orders with only 80% pulse energy compared to the fundamental single-color field. We check that this enhancement can be realized for He or Ne gas at both low and high gas pressures. The optimized waveform enables the short-trajectory emissions dominant to facilitate the buildup of the harmonic field, which is revealed by analyzing the behaviors of electron trajectories and the time-frequency pictures of the single-atom and macroscopic HHG. We also optimize the two-color waveform consisting of the fundamental laser and its third harmonic field for the flexible choice in the experiment. This study provides with a practical route to implement the optimization technique in the experiment for the high-flux harmonic generation from the extreme ultraviolet to the X-rays. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreement