Abstract
The characteristics of the light filaments formed by λ=400 nm blue femtosecond laser pulses are experimentally investigated. Both pre-focused and free propagation conditions are studied. The diameter, length and electron density were measured by using fluorescence signal imaging and longitudinal diffraction method. About 2×1017 cm−3 electron density in filaments was achieved with beam pre-focusing. In the free propagation case, the multi-filamentation can be observed over 70 m propagation distance, and the energy in the filament core is only about 30 μJ. The effects of energy reservoir on the filament core have been investigated by inserting a diaphragm in a selected single filament path to block the energy of the reservoir. The evolution of filamentation has been studied experimentally as a function of diaphragm size. The energy reservoir can be extended to about 10 mm from the filament core. The results indicate that the up conversion of laser is a possible way to enhance the utilization of laser energy for the generation of long filaments.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
A. Braun, G. Korn, X. Liu, D. Du, J. Squire, G. Mourou, Opt. Lett. 20, 73–75 (1995)
B. La Fontaine, F. Vidal, Z. Jiang, C. Chien, D. Comtois, A. Desparois, T. Johnston, J. Kieffer, H. Pépin, H. Mercure, Phys. Plasmas 6, 1615–1621 (1999)
J. Kasparian, R. Sauerbrey, D. Mondelain, S. Niedermeier, J. Yu, J. Wolf, Y.B. André, M. Franco, B. Prade, S. Tzortzakis, A. Mysyrowicz, M. Rodriguez, H. Wille, L. Wöste, Opt. Lett. 25, 1397–1399 (2000)
H. Ladouceur, A. Baronavski, D. Lohrmann, P. Grounds, P. Girardi, Opt. Commun. 189, 107–111 (2001)
H. Yang, J. Zhang, Y. Li, J. Zhang, Y. Li, Z. Chen, H. Teng, Z. Wei, Z. Sheng, Phys. Rev. E 66, 016406 (2002)
H. Yang, J. Zhang, J. Zhang, L. Zhao, Y. Li, H. Teng, Y. Li, Z. Wang, Z. Chen, Z. Wei, J. Ma, W. Yu, Z. Sheng, Phys. Rev. E 67, 015401 (2003)
J. Kasparian, M. Rodriguez, G. Méjean, J. Yu, E. Salmon, H. Wille, R. Bourayou, S. Frey, Y. André, A. Mysyrowicz, R. Sauerbrey, J. Wolf, L. Wöste, Science 301, 61–64 (2003)
G. Méchain, A. Couairon, M. Franco, B. Prade, A. Mysyrowicz, Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 035003 (2004)
L. Bergé, S. Skupin, F. Lederer, G. Méjean, J. Yu, J. Kasparian, E. Salmon, J. Wolf, M. Rodriguez, L. Wöste, R. Bourayou, R. Sauerbrey, Phys. Rev. Lett. 92, 225002 (2004)
A. Couairon, M. Franco, A. Mysyrowicz, J. Biegert, U. Keller, Opt. Lett. 30, 2657–2659 (2005)
S. Chin, S. Hosseini, W. Liu, Q. Luo, F. Théberge, N. Aközbek, A. Becker, V. Kandidov, O. Kosareva, H. Schroeder, Can. J. Phys. 83, 863–905 (2005)
L. Bergé, S. Skupin, R. Nuter, J. Kasparian, J.-P. Wolf, Rep. Prog. Phys. 70, 1633–1713 (2007)
A. Couairon, A. Mysyrowicz, Phys. Rep. 441, 47–189 (2007)
J. Kasparian, J.-P. Wolf, Opt. Express 16, 466–493 (2008)
G. Méchain, C. D’Amico, Y. André, S. Tzortzakis, M. Franco, B. Prade, A. Mysyrowicz, A. Couairon, E. Salmon, R. Sauerbrey, Opt. Commun. 247, 171–180 (2005)
J. Schwarz, P. Rambo, J. Diels, M. Kolesik, E. Wright, J. Moloney, Opt. Commun. 180, 383–390 (2000)
B. Prade, M. Franco, A. Mysyrowicz, A. Couairon, H. Buersing, B. Eberle, M. Krenz, D. Seiffer, O. Vasseur, Opt. Lett. 31, 2601–2603 (2006)
P. Bejot, C. Bonnet, V. Boutou, J.P. Wolf, Opt. Express 15, 13295–13309 (2007)
P. Béjot, J. Kasparian, J.-P. Wolf, Opt. Express 16, 14115–14127 (2008)
L. Bergé, S. Skupin, G. Méjean, J. Kasparian, J. Yu, S. Frey, E. Salmon, J. Wolf, Phys. Rev. E 71, 016602 (2005)
A. Couairon, L. Bergé, Phys. Rev. Lett. 88, 135003 (2002)
E. Sidick, A. Knoesen, A. Dienes, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 12, 1704–1712 (1995)
A. Talebpour, S. Petit, S. Chin, Opt. Commun. 171, 285–290 (1999)
J. Liu, Z. Duan, Z. Zeng, X. Xie, Y. Deng, R. Li, Z. Xu, S. Chin, Phys. Rev. E 72, 026412 (2005)
A. Brodeur, C. Chien, F. Ilkov, S. Chin, O. Kosareva, V. Kandidov, Opt. Lett. 22, 304–306 (1997)
Z. Hao, J. Zhang, Z. Zhang, X. Yuan, Z. Zheng, X. Lu, Z. Jin, Z. Wang, J. Zhong, Y. Liu, Phys. Rev. E 74, 066402 (2006)
V. Kandidov, O. Kosareva, A. Koltun, Quantum Electron. 33, 69–75 (2003)
Z. Hao, J. Zhang, X. Lu, T. Xi, Z. Zhang, Z. Wang, J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 26, 499–502 (2009)
T. Kanai, X. Zhou, T. Liu, A. Kosuge, T. Sekikawa, S. Watanabe, Opt. Lett. 29, 2929–2931 (2004)
B. Agate, E. Rafailov, W. Sibbett, S. Saltiel, K. Koynov, M. Tiihonen, S. Wang, F. Laurell, P. Battle, T. Fry, T. Roberts, E. Noonan, IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron. 10, 1268–1276 (2004)
A.A. Lagatsky, C.T.A. Brown, W. Sibbett, S.J. Holmgren, C. Canalias, V. Pasiskevicius, F. Laurell, E.U. Rafailov, Opt. Exp. 15, 1155–1160 (2007)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, Z., Lu, X., Xi, TT. et al. Long distance filamentation of 400 nm femtosecond laser pulses in air. Appl. Phys. B 97, 207–213 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-009-3663-0
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00340-009-3663-0