We demonstrate alignment control in high density vapors of $\mathrm{CS}{}_2$, hexane, and $\mathrm{N}{}_2$ $(\sim {10}^{17}$ molecules $\mathrm{cm}{}^{-3\mathrm{}})$ using the electric field of a 300 ps duration laser pulse. This was sufficient to study for the first time the molecular orientation dependence of high-order harmonic generation using a second, 70 fs duration laser pulse of intensity $\sim 5\times {10}^{14}\mathrm{W}\mathrm{cm}{}^{-2\mathrm{}}$. We were able to modulate and significantly enhance the harmonic intensity in aligned molecules compared to the randomly oriented case. Our results are consistent with the existence of an anisotropic dipole phase.

This work reports on the formation of different types of structures on the surface of polymer films upon UV laser irradiation. Poly(ethylene terephthalate) was irradiated with nanosecond UV pulses at 193 and 266 nm. The polarization of the laser beam and the irradiation angle of incidence were varied, giving rise to laser induced surface structures with different shapes and periodicities. The irradiated surfaces were topographically characterized by atomic force microscopy and the chemical modifications induced by laser irradiation were inspected via micro-Raman and fluorescence spectroscopies. Contact angle measurements were performed with different liquids, and the results evaluated in terms of surface free energy components. Finally, in order to test the influence of surface properties for a potential application, the modified surfaces were used for mesenchymal stem cell culture assays and the effect of nanostructure and surface chemistry on cell adhesion was evaluated.

In this work we present the formation of laser induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) on spin-coated thin films of several model aromatic polymers including poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(trimethylene terephthalate) and poly carbonate bis-phenol A upon irradiation with femtosecond pulses of 795 and 265 nm at fluences well below the ablation threshold. LIPSS are formed with period lengths similar to the laser wavelength and parallel to the direction of the laser polarization vector. Formation of LIPSS upon IR irradiation at 795 nm, a wavelength at which the polymers absorb weakly, contrasts with the absence of LIPSS in this spectral range upon irradiation with nanosecond pulses. Real and reciprocal space characterization of LIPSS obtained by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Grazing Incidence Small Angle X-ray Scattering (GISAXS), respectively, yields well correlated morphological information. Comparison of experimental and simulated GISAXS patterns suggests that LIPSS can be suitably described considering a quasi-one-dimensional paracrystalline lattice and that irradiation parameters have an influence on the order of such a lattice. Fluorescence measurements, after laser irradiation, provide indirect information about dynamics and structure of the polymer at the molecular level. Our results indicate that the LIPSS are formed by interference of the incident and surface scattered waves. As a result of this process, heating of the polymer surface above its glass transition temperature takes place enabling LIPSS formation.

High-order harmonic generation has been explored theoretically and experimentally in ${\text{CO}}_2$, a linear molecule characterized by doubly antisymmetric highest-occupied molecular orbitals. For the first time to our knowledge, the high-harmonic yield is studied as a function of the angle between the molecular axis and the polarization direction. A minimum yield is found at $0°$ for all harmonics, which constitutes evidence for destructively interfering terms in the ionization probability amplitude playing an important role in strong-field phenomena in molecules. The maximum yield is always found at intermediate angles, but the detailed behavior is harmonic specific. Numerical simulations reproduce the main features observed in the experiment.