Enhanced harmonic conversion efficiency in the self-guided propagation of femtosecond ultraviolet laser pulses in argonEnhanced harmonic conversion efficiency in the self-guided propagation of femtosecond ultraviolet laser pulses in argon Peer-Reviewed Journal Publication Δημοσίευση σε Περιοδικό με Κριτές 2015-11-082005enHarmonic generation during the self-guided propagation of femtosecond ultraviolet (UV) laser pulses (248-nm, 450-fs) in argon is investigated. The third (82.7-nm) and fifth (49.6-nm) harmonics are generated in the UV filament. The energy-conversion efficiencies for the harmonics are found to be at least two orders of magnitude higher than those reported in the literature for similar gas pressures. The enhancement is attributed to the quasi-phase matching of the harmonics due to the self-guiding of the driving pulse. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Applied Physics B80211-214 Kortsalioudakis Nathanail Κορτσαλιουδακης Ναθαναηλ Tatarakis M. Vakakis N. Moustaizis Stavros Μουσταιζης Σταυρος Franco Michel Prade Bernard Mysyrowicz André Papadogiannis Nektarios Andrea Couairon Arnaud Tzortzakis Stelios Springer Verlag Laser pulses, Picosecond Light pulses, Picosecond Light pulses, Ultrashort Picosecond laser pulses Picosecond light pulses Ultrashort laser pulses Ultrashort light pulses laser pulses ultrashort laser pulses picosecond light pulses picosecond light pulses ultrashort picosecond laser pulses picosecond light pulses ultrashort laser pulses ultrashort light pulses