Quantum efficiency studies for various wavelength and various technical metal surfaces were carried out in a dedicated unbaked vacuum chamber. Copper, magnesium, aluminium and aluminium-lithium photocathodes were irradiated by two different high powe
r, high repetition rate, laser systems. We have observed an emission of electrons for photon energy below the work function of the material. This is explained by multiple photon absorption at the photocathode. We have not observed any degradation of the QE for those materials, but an improvement when irradiating them over a long period of time. This is contrary to observations made in RF photoguns.
We examine how the generation and propagation of high-order harmonics in a partly ionized gas medium affect their strength and synchronization. The temporal properties of the resulting attosecond pulses generated in long gas targets can be significan
tly influenced by macroscopic effects, in particular by the intensity in the medium and the degree of ionization. Under some conditions, the use of gas targets longer than the absorption length can lead to the generation of self-compressed attosecond pulses. We show this effect experimentally, using long argon-filled gas cells as generating medium.
