Control and enhancement of multiband high harmonic generation by synthesized laser fields

High harmonic generation (HHG) spectroscopy has emerged as an invaluable tool for studying electronic dynamics and structure in crystals. The primary challenges are imposed by the multiple degrees of freedom of the underlying dynamics as well as the low efficiency of the HHG process. Here we show that when the HHG process is driven by a synthesized bichromatic field, its efficiency can be significantly enhanced, increasing the photon flux by 1–2 orders of magnitude. The bichromatic field enhances the signal on a microscopic level by manipulating the tunnel ionization and subsequent electron dynamics driven by the synthesized laser waveform. We examine the scaling of the HHG yield on the field parameters, and observe a pronounced dependence on the HHG energy. Importantly, our study reveals that the different spectral regimes are dictated by different generation mechanisms as well as multiple bands in which the dynamics evolve. Our work demonstrates that shaped laser fields serve as a powerful approach to control multiband electron currents in solids, probe their origin, and enhance the efficiency of the HHG process.