Filamentation of ultrashort pulse laser beams resulting from their propagation over long distances in air

Physics of Plasmas - Tập 6 Số 5 - Trang 1615-1621 - 1999
Bruno La Fontaine1, François Vidal1, Zhiming Jiang1, C. Y. Chien1, D. Comtois1, A. Desparois1, T. W. Johnston1, Jean-Claude Kieffer1, H. Pépin1, H.P. Mercure2
1Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS)—Énergie et Matériaux, 1650 Lionel Boulet, Varennes, Québec J3X 1S2 Canada
2IREQ, Hydro-Québec, 1800 Lionel Boulet, Varennes, Québec J3X 1S1 Canada

Tóm tắt

The propagation of high-power short-pulse laser beams over considerable distances in air is studied both experimentally and via numerical simulations. Filaments are formed after 5–10 m and their propagation over distances in excess of 200 m is reported for the first time. The lateral dimensions of the filaments are found to range from about 100 μm to a few millimeters in diameter. The early values of plasma electron density have been inferred to be a few times 1016 cm−3 using longitudinal spectral interferometry. For 500 fs pulses and a wavelength of 1053 nm, the energy in the filament can be quite high initially (∼8 mJ) and is found to stabilize at about 1.5–2 mJ, after about 35 m. A simple model based on the nonlinear Schrödinger equation coupled to a multiphoton ionization law appears to describe several experimental results quite well.

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Physics of Plasmas

Tập 6 Số 5

1615-1621

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