  Emission of high-order harmonics from solids provides a new avenue in
attosecond science. On one hand, it allows to investigate fundamental processes
of the non-linear response of electrons driven by a strong laser pulse in a
periodic crystal lattice. On the other hand, it opens new paths toward
efficient attosecond pulse generation, novel imaging of electronic wave
functions, and enhancement of high-order harmonic generation (HHG) intensity. A
key feature of HHG in a solid (as compared to the well-understood phenomena of
HHG in an atomic gas) is the delocalization of the process, whereby an electron
ionized from one site in the periodic lattice may recombine with any other.
Here, we develop an analytic model, based on the localized Wannier wave
functions in the valence band and delocalized Bloch functions in the conduction
band. This Wannier-Bloch approach assesses the contributions of individual
lattice sites to the HHG process, and hence addresses precisely the question of
localization of harmonic emission in solids. We apply this model to investigate
HHG in a ZnO crystal for two different orientations, corresponding to wider and
narrower valence and conduction bands, respectively. Interestingly, for
narrower bands, the HHG process shows significant localization, similar to
harmonic generation in atoms. For all cases, the delocalized contributions to
HHG emission are highest near the band-gap energy. Our results pave the way to
controlling localized contributions to HHG in a solid crystal, with hard to
overestimate implications for the emerging area of atto-nanoscience.
