We present systematic experimental studies of high-order harmonic generation in He and Ne that have been performed with an intense, femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser at intensities in the tunneling regime, where special attention is concentrated on the strong-field effect. A broad plateau is formed in the harmonic distribution that includes harmonic peaks at low and high orders and the observed highest orders (shortest wavelengths) are the 103rd (7.6 nm) for He and 95th (8.2 nm) for Ne. The laser-ellipticity-dependent harmonics observed suggest different generation processes for the low orders below and around the atomic ionization limit and for the high orders in and above the plateau region. The medium ionization is found to induce strong self-defocusing of the incident laser beam, and its effects on the harmonic generation are studied. The results for the defocusing and the blueshifts of the harmonic spectra observed show that the generation of a higher-order harmonic requires a higher intensity in time and space. The theoretically predicted harmonic cutoff is demonstrated to agree well with experiment when we take into account the interaction intensity limited in the ionizing medium. The characteristic harmonic behaviors observed are discussed based on the interaction intensity and the propagation effect in the medium.

• Received 12 May 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.52.3007