We have demonstrated that an underdense ionization front can significantly upshift the frequency of an impinging electromagnetic wave. Source radiation at 35 GHz was shifted to more than 116 GHz when a relativistically propagating, laser-produced ionization front interacted with microwave radiation that was confined in a resonant cavity. The amount of upshift was proportional to the plasma density in the front, in agreement with theoretical predictions.

• Received 29 August 1991

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.68.946