Enhanced spatiotemporal laser-beam smoothing in gas-jet plasmas

Spatiotemporal smoothing of large-scale laser intensity fluctuations is observed for a laser beam focused into underdense helium plasmas. This smoothing is found to be severely enhanced when focusing the laser beam into a helium gas jet. In contrast to other experiments with preformed plasmas, the average and the peak laser intensities are well below the threshold for ponderomotive self-focusing. The coherence characteristics of the transmitted light are measured for various electron densities, and the smoothing effect is explained by multiple scattering of laser light on self-induced density perturbations.     

大口径DKDP晶体受激拉曼散射增益系数的测量（英）

大口径KDP/DKDP晶体在强紫外光辐照下产生横向受激拉曼散射效应（TSRS）, 受激放大的拉曼散射光将导致激光能量损失甚至激光损伤, 测量DKDP晶体TSRS增益系数对设置激光装置的运行区间以确保晶体的安全使用非常重要。采用高精度光谱仪探测大口径DKDP晶体（氘含量65%）在351 nm激光辐照下的横向拉曼散射信号, 得到了拉曼散射光的增长曲线, 拟合得到的拉曼增益系数为0.109 cm/GW。同时, 实验结果表明晶体体损伤不影响TSRS增长行为, 表明晶体体损伤对拉曼增益系数测量结果的影响可以忽略。     

Double line stimulated Raman scattering in benzene

Simultaneous stimulated Raman scattering at the 992 cm^–1 and the 3063 cm^–1 line of benzene is observed by mode-locked ruby laser pulse excitation. The double line stimulated Raman scattering is initiated by self-focusing. The influence of small-scale self-focusing, self-phase modulation, and cross-phase modulation on the double line stimulated Raman scattering is discussed. At low pump pulse intensities, before the onset of small-scale self-focusing, the steady-state Raman gain factors of both Raman lines are determined by Raman energy conversion efficiency measurements.     

Laser-induced damage and light scattering in solids

The article deals with the present-day status of the problem of damage to transparent solid dielectrics such as crystals, glasses, and others. The role of the absorbing inclusions and of self-focusing in the laser damage mechanism is discussed, as are also the limiting mechanisms connected with the electron avalanche.Translated from Trudy Ordena Lenina Fizicheskogo Instituta im. P. N. Lebedeva, Vol. 101, pp. 3–8, 1978.     

Superbroadening of single 1.06 μm picosecond pulses in H2O and D2O: On the concurrence of dielectric breakdown and superbroadening

The superbroadening of single 1.06 μm picosecond pulses extracted from a passively mode-locked Nd:glass laser in H₂O and D₂O has been studied. Data on ninety degree scattering of the laser pump and visible superbroadened (SB) light, the dependence of the SB light intensity on cell length, and the polarization ratio of the SB light are reported. The results show that filament formation and breakdown is not required to produce SB light, although these catastrophic effects may occur after the formation of SB light and occur concurrently with superbroadening at high laser pump intensities. The previous conclusion that four-wave parametric interaction is solely responsible for superbroadening in water is sustained by the present results. The present results show that to minimize self-focusing and to produce a highly polarized ps continuum beam for time-resolved spectroscopic study, low pump intensities and short cells should be used.     

Reduction of optical damage effects in LiNbO3 and LiTaO3

Optical damage effects in electro-optic crystals such as LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ result from light-induced refractive index changes which bring about decollimation and scattering of light beams. The origin of the index changes is discussed. Although it is currently impossible to avoid undesired optical damage completely, various possibilities are proposed to reduce the effects.     

Filamentation of ultrashort light pulses in a liquid scattering medium

We have studied filamentation of 1-ps laser pulses in a scattering medium (aqueous suspension of 2-μm polystyrene microspheres) and compared filamentation dynamics to that in pure water. Our results indicate that light scattering does not alter filamentation dynamics in general, but rather results in farther position of the nonlinear focus, shorter filament length, and the development of speckle structure in the peripheral part of the beam. The experimental observations are qualitatively reproduced by the numerical model which accounts for diffraction, self-focusing, multiphoton absorption, and light scattering introduced through a stochastic diffusion and diffraction term.     

Effect of Stimulated Raman Scattering on Spectral Characteristics of Ultranarrow Pulses in a Mode-Locked Solid-State Laser

On the basis of numerical modeling, it is shown that the effect of the higher-order group-velocity dispersion is unable to account for the noticeable Stokes displacement of the generation spectrum in a LiSGaF laser with mode-locking due to self-focusing. The results of calculations indicate the determining influence of stimulated Raman scattering on the spectral characteristics of femtosecond pulses.     

Picosecond pulse generation in a benzene raman generator amplifier system

Picosecond ruby laser pulses generate simultaneously Stokes pulses of the 992 cm^–1 ring breathing mode and of the 3063 cm^–1 CH-stretching mode of benzene in a Raman generator cell by stimulated Raman scattering under self-focusing conditions. The Raman generator light is spectrally filtered, collimated, and amplified in three Raman amplifier cells pumped by ruby laser pulses. Both first Stokes lines have been selectively amplified to short, low divergence, intense light pulses.     

Self-focusing and its related interactions at very high laser intensities for fast ignition at Osaka University

At the Institute of Laser Engineering, various type of experiments related to fast ignition were performed with the 12-beam laser system GEKKO XII and the newly added 100 TW beams line. Using both X-ray and UV laser probes, drilling via ponderomotive laser light self-focusing was studied to show drilling well into the overdense plasma over a distance of 100 μ m at a self-focused laser intensity of 10¹⁸ W / cm ² . This type of self-focusing accelerated electrons up to 0.1 to 1 MeV and was also applied to an imploding shell.     

Light scattering in single crystals of nonlinear-optical photorefractive LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>:Cu and LiNbO<Subscript>3</Subscript>:Zn

Comparative studies are made of the photorefractive scattering of light in nonlinear single crystals of lithium niobate with congruent compositions (LiNbO₃) doped with "photorefractive" Cu [0.015 mass %] and "nonphotorefractive" Zn [0.5 mass %] cations. For the first time it is found that single crystals doped with "photorefractive" and "nonphotorefractive" cations have different indicatrices for photorefractive light scattering. The aperture angle for photorefractive scattering reaches its steady state value more rapidly with high laser powers than with low. However, at high powers laser induced heating of the crystal is greater, and this leads to a narrowing of the scattering indicatrix. It is also found that photorefractive scattering in these single crystals depends on the region of the boule from which a sample has been cut. This indicates that there is a nonuniform distribution over the boule of the imperfections with localized electrons which determine the magnitude of the photorefractive effect.     

Aerosol scattering of supercontinuum radiation formed upon femtosecond laser pulse filamentation in the atmosphere

We report numerical calculations of scattering and backscattering efficiency factors of water droplets illuminated by a quasi-white light radiation (a supercontinuum radiation) that results from self-focusing of a high-power femtosecond laser pulse in the atmosphere. The behavior of these integral optical characteristics for a wide range of droplet sizes that covers the size spectra of fog and cloud particles is analyzed. The results are compared to the values of the scattering factors obtained by the Lorentz-Mie theory.     

Storing energy in lithium fluoride crystals irradiated with femtosecond laser pulses

The release of energy in the form of the light sum of thermally stimulated luminescence (TSL), stored under conditions of self-focusing and the multiple filamentation of femtosecond laser radiation during the interaction between model wide-bandgap dielectric crystals of lithium fluoride is studied. It is shown that F₂ color centers are important centers of emission in the TSL process.     

Dynamics of Mandel’shtam-Brillouin induced scattering during self-focusing of a laser beam

It is shown that the size of the focal spot has a substantial influence on the dynamics of Mandel’shtam-Brillouin induced scattering (MBIS) for the laser beam power near critical for striction self-focusing. For small focal spots MBIS suppresses self-focusing. An increase in the size of the focal spot leads to growth of the MBIS pulsations and the steady-state setup time. For large enough focal spots MBIS arises in the form of regular intense spikes. Physical processes shaping the dynamics of MBIS are discussed. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 115, 1950–1960 (June 1999)     

Self focusing of laser beams in a degenerate nonparabolic semiconductor: Kinetic approach

Using rigorous kinetic treatment the steady state self-focusing of laser beams in a degenerate nonparabolic semiconductor (e.g. n-InSb) has been investigated beyond the perturbation limit. The nonlinearity arises due to the energy dependence of the electron mass in the conduction band. The energy loss of electron energy is assumed to be due to polar optical phonons and momentum transfer due to ionised impurity scattering/polar optical phonon scattering. It is found that nonlinearity in the dielectric constant or the self-focusing is more pronounced in the case of ionised impurity case as compared to polar optical phonon case. The effect of absorption is to suppress the self-focusing but the latter is also enhanced by degeneracy.     

Study on the optical properties of rapidly grown KDP crystals

KDP crystals were grown at growth rates from 5.0 to 19.0 mm/d. Transmittance, laser damage threshold and light scatter were detected. It has been shown that laser damage thresholds of KDP crystals decrease with the increase of the absorption coefficients. Large-scale impurity is an important factor that causes light absorption in UV range and reduces the damage threshold.     

非线性光学的发展与成就

本文简要评述了非线性光学(强光光学)二十年来的发展历史和所取得的成就,说明了强激光与物质相互作用的主要特点,强调了开展非线性光学研究的重大科学技术价值。着重介绍了各种主要非线性光学效应的种类、原理、研究进展、以及它们各种可能的和现实的应用。所论述到的主要研究课题方面包括有:光学相干混频、受激散射、自聚焦和自相位调制、光学相位共轭、光学双稳态、瞬态相干光学效应以及各种强光光谱学效应等。     

On the generation of picosecond light continua depending on various nonlinear processes

The generation of picosecond light continua depends on various nonlinear processes such as parametric four-photon interaction, self-phase modulation, self-focusing, and avalanche ionization. In order to systematize the influence of these processes we have indicated both the threshold for continuum generation measured by various authors and the threshold for the nonlinear processes in a power diameter diagram characterizing the laser beam. The result is that all the thresholds for continuum measured under very different experimental conditions are situated nearly on one curve given by the nonlinear process with the lowest threshold. We have carried out measurements on the spectral energy distribution and on the angular distribution of the continuum generated in water and alkali halides by a mode-locked single-pulse Nd-glass laser. Under our experimental conditions both self-phase modulation and parametric four-photon interaction contribute to continuum generation.     

The polarization-dependence of femtosecond laser damage threshold inside fused silica

The laser damage threshold inside fused silica is dependent not only on the numerical aperture (NA) of the focusing objective, but also on the polarization of the incident femtosecond laser pulses. The damage threshold for circularly polarized beams is higher than that for linearly polarized beams when NA>0.4, but the former was lower than the latter when NA<0.4. The reverse might be due to different damage processes: laser induced damage at high NA and the self-focusing induced breakdown at low NA.