Resonantly-enhanced harmonic generation in Argon

We present systematic investigations of harmonic generation in Argon, driven in the vicinity of a five-photon resonance by intense, tunable picosecond radiation pulses. When properly matching the laser frequency with the Stark-shifted multi-photon resonance, we observe a pronounced enhancement not only of the 5th, but also the 7th and 9th harmonic of the driving laser (i.e. at orders higher than the involved multi-photon resonance). We study the harmonic yield at different intensities and wavelengths of the driving laser to determine optimal conditions for resonantly-enhanced harmonic generation. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America