Tailored semiconductors for high-harmonic optoelectronics

Abstract

Hitting the highs in solid state The ability to generate high harmonics of optical frequencies through the nonlinear interaction between intense light pulses and gas atoms has opened up the area of ultrafast optics and spectroscopy. Sivis et al. now show that high harmonics can also be generated with a solid-state sample. They used nanofabricated structured targets of ZnO and varied the chemical composition of the sample to demonstrate that (modest) high harmonics can be generated as the light interacts with the target materials. The results present the possibility of developing solid-state ultrafast optical devices. Science , this issue p. 303