High-Order Harmonic Generation in Photoexcited Three-Dimensional Dirac Semimetals

High-order harmonic generation (HHG) in condensed matter is highly important for potential applications in various fields, such as materials characterization, all-optical switches, and coherent light source generation. Linking HHG to the properties or dynamic processes of materials is essential for realizing these applications. Here, a bridge has been built between HHG and the transient properties of materials through the engineering of interband polarization in a photoexcited three-dimensional Dirac semimetal (3D-DSM). It has been found that HHG can be efficiently manipulated by the electronic relaxation dynamics of 3D-DSM on an ultrafast time scale of several hundred femtoseconds. Furthermore, time-resolved HHG (tr-HHG) has been demonstrated to be a powerful spectroscopy method for tracking electron relaxation dynamics, enabling the identification of electron thermalization and electron-phonon coupling processes and the quantitative extraction of electron-phonon coupling strength. This demonstration provides insights into the active control of HHG and measurements of the electron dynamics.