Gating attosecond pulse train generation using multicolor laser fields

The process of high-order harmonic generation leads to the production of a train of attosecond-duration extreme ultraviolet (XUV) pulses, with one pulse emitted per optical half-cycle. For attosecond pump-probe experiments, a single, isolated attosecond pulse is preferable, requiring an almost continuous spectrum. We show experimentally and numerically that the addition of a second laser field, and later a third, at a noncommensurate frequency relative to the driving field can modify the subcycle shape of the electric field, leading to the appearance of additional spectral components between the usual odd harmonics and in some cases a quasicontinuum. We perform a parametric study of the frequency ratio between the two first laser fields, the result of which is in good agreement with theoretical selection rules. We also show numerically that using three laser frequencies from an optical parametric amplifier can achieve a single attosecond pulse from a 24-fs laser pulse. ©2010 The American Physical Society