Influence of tunnel ionization to third-harmonic generation of infrared femtosecond laser pulses in air

Abstract

AbstractHere we present an experimental as well as theoretical study of third-harmonic generation in tightly focused femtosecond filaments in air at the wavelength of $$1.5 \,\upmu \hbox {m}$$ 1.5 μ m . At low intensities, longitudinal phase matching is dominating in the formation of 3rd harmonics, whereas at higher intensities locked X-waves are formed. We provide the arguments that the X-wave formation is governed mainly by the tunnel-like ionization dynamics rather than by the multiphoton one. Despite of this fact, the impact of the ionization-induced nonlinearity is lower than the one from bound–bound transitions at all intensities.