High-Harmonic Generation & EUV Science

The group investigates the high-harmonic generation (HHG) phenomenon in various media, including gases, solids such as semiconductors, and strongly correlated materials, as well as nanostructures like metasurfaces. Our objective is to understand and enhance the efficiency of the HHG process to broaden its potential applications. This involves developing new experimental configurations and novel sources in the EUV/soft-X-ray domain. Moreover, we are exploring the possible applications of EUV radiation in imaging and metrology with a nanometer resolution, specifically in holography and scatterometry. We also utilize high-harmonics in ultrafast transient XUV spectroscopy to probe the dynamics of electronic and atomic systems with femtosecond time resolution. Our recent HHG experiments conducted on solids showcase the potential for manipulating optical emission (deactivation) solely through light, which can have practical applications in high-resolution imaging and super-resolution microscopy at the nanoscale. For a complete overview of the group’s research activities please refer to the full Research activities list.

The group collaborates with the UV Generation & Imaging and Light-Matter Interactions groups at ARCNL, as well as with the Resonant Nanophotonics group at AMOLF. The group participates in a number of international collaborations with researchers at the Max Born Institute for Nonlinear Optics and Short Pulse Spectroscopy (Germany), Aarhus University (Denmark), University of Twente (the Netherlands), and Material Science Institute of Madrid (Spain).

Group leader Peter Kraus also has an appointment as an Assistant Professor of Physics at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

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