Systematic studies of two-color pump-induced high-order harmonic generation in plasma plumes

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) has been studied in various laser-produced plasma plumes using a two-color orthogonally polarized beam with a 12:1 energy ratio between the fundamental and second-harmonic (SH) components. The influence of the relative phase between the fundamental and SH waves on the HHG efficiency has been investigated. Odd and even harmonic generation in plasma plumes containing nanoparticles, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and other samples was optimized. The effect of the variation in the SH intensity on the HHG conversion efficiency in carbon aerogel and silver plasma plumes has also been studied. It is shown that by increasing the SH intensity, one can generate only even harmonics by suppressing the odd harmonics.