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ABSTRACT Specular reflection is one of the most fundamental processes of optics. At moderate light intensities generated by conventional light sources this process is well understood. But at

those capable of being produced by modern ultrahigh-intensity lasers, many new and potentially useful phenomena arise. When a pulse from such a laser hits an optically polished surface, it

generates a dense plasma that itself acts as a mirror, known as a plasma mirror (PM). PMs do not just reflect the remainder of the incident beam, but can act as active optical elements.

Using a set of three consecutive PMs in different regimes, we significantly improve the temporal contrast of femtosecond pulses, and demonstrate that high-order harmonics of the laser

frequency can be generated through two distinct mechanisms. A better understanding of these processes should aid the development of laser-driven attosecond sources for use in fields from

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Read our FAQs * Contact customer support SIMILAR CONTENT BEING VIEWED BY OTHERS HIGH-HARMONIC GENERATION FROM A FLAT LIQUID-SHEET PLASMA MIRROR Article Open access 22 April 2023

SPATIO-TEMPORAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ATTOSECOND PULSES FROM PLASMA MIRRORS Article 03 June 2021 ABSORPTION-INDUCED TRANSMISSION IN PLASMA MICROPHOTONICS Article Open access 27 July 2023

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INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Service des Photons, Atomes et Molécules, Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique, DSM/DRECAM, CEN Saclay, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France C. Thaury, F. Quéré, 

A. Levy, T. Ceccotti, P. Monot, M. Bougeard, F. Réau, P. d’Oliveira & Ph. Martin * Laboratoire pour l’Utilisation des Lasers Intenses, CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, 91128 Palaiseau, France

J.-P. Geindre & P. Audebert * Department of Physics and Institute for Optical Sciences, University of Toronto, 60 St George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1A7, Canada R. Marjoribanks

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ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Thaury, C., Quéré, F., Geindre, JP. _et al._ Plasma mirrors for ultrahigh-intensity optics. _Nature Phys_ 3, 424–429 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys595

Download citation * Received: 20 November 2006 * Accepted: 16 March 2007 * Published: 15 April 2007 * Issue Date: June 2007 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys595 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone

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