Multifilamentation of femtosecond laser pulses propagating in?turbulent air near the ground

The propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in turbulent air near the ground is analyzed. Confining to a power regime distinctly above the critical power for self-focusing, i.e. P≈100P _cr, and concentrating on initial peak intensities around 2.5×10¹¹W/cm², the onset and early evolution of multiple filaments are addressed. Making use of the turbulence phase-screen method, numerical simulations of the pulse propagation indicate that turbulence fields with spatial scales below 6 mm are able to induce the onset of multifilamentation. An analytical linear plane wave perturbation model of the underlying modulation instability of the pulse front is introduced in support of the computational results. By this means, insight into the amplification of an initial perturbation of the pulse front from the point of view of the spatial frequency domain is given.     

Fabrication of quasi-periodic micro-voids in fused silica by single femtosecond laser pulse

We demonstrate that quasi-periodic void structure can be self-formed in transparent materials by single femtosecond laser pulse. Compared to the multiple-pulse induced structures, the single-pulse induced void structures are very short and may contain absent voids. The formation mechanisms have been discussed comparatively in detail. Based on this, a technique for high-speed and large-area fabrication of micro-void arrays in transparent materials has been presented. The experimental results show that 3D micro-void structures which contain over several hundred thousand voids in micrometer scales are produced in areas of square millimeters within a few minutes, and the periods of micro-void structures can be easily varied by processing parameters. This work has potential applications in 3D optical storage, photonic crystal and integrated optics, and provides novel insight into the interaction between the single femtosecond pulse and the transparent materials.     

Multifilamentation of femtosecond laser pulses induced by?small-scale air turbulence

We report on experimental and numerical investigations of femtosecond pulse propagation locally disturbed by the turbulent flow field of a hot-air blower. The experiments show that turbulence may shorten the collapse/filamentation distance and induce the onset of multiple filaments. This is supported by numerical simulations indicating that the high spatial frequency part of the turbulence spectrum plays a significant role.     

Electronic excitation in femtosecond laser interactions with wide-band-gap materials

Effects of the ultrashort laser excitations of wide-band-gap materials are investigated. Single-, double-, and multiple-shot cases are considered with a particular focus on the control over the transient reflectivity changes and the energy deposition rate. We show that the history of laser excitations affects not only the ionization process and the final number of the conduction-band electrons, but also determines the reflectivity time evolution and the rate of laser energy deposition into the target. Based on the obtained calculation results, both thermal effects and structural modifications can be better controlled.     

Propagation of general-type of phase-locked beam array in a turbulent atmosphere

The propagation of a general-type of phase-locked beam array in a turbulent atmosphere is studied, in which four practical issues, i.e., apertured, conformal, partially coherent, and flattened beam array is taken into consideration for accurate modeling of beam array in power beaming applications. The average intensity distribution in the receiving plane is deduced analytically based on extended Huygens–Fresnel principle. The influence of beam order, transverse coherence length, and truncation ratio is briefly discussed.     

Dynamics of Coulomb explosion of hydrogen clusters in a high-intensity femtosecond laser pulse

Using Bethe model, the dynamics of the ionization and Coulomb explosion of hydrogen clusters (0.5-5 nm) in high-intensity (1015 -1017 W/cm2) femtosecond laser pulses have been studied theoretically, and the dependence of energy of protons emitted from exploding clusters on cluster size and laser intensity has been investigated. It is found that the maximum proton energy increases exponentially with the cluster size, and the exponent is mainly determined by the laser intensity. For a given cluster size, the maximum proton energy increases with increasing laser intensity and gets saturation gradually. The calculation results are in agreement with the recent experimental observation.     

On clustering of aerosol particles in homogeneous turbulent shear flows

The objective of this paper is to present a model for predicting clustering of aerosol particles in uniformly sheared turbulent flows laden with small heavy particles. The background of the model for predicting clustering is based on a kinetic equation for the two-point probability density function of the relative velocity distribution of two particles. The effect of clustering of particles in homogeneous turbulent shear flows is demonstrated and compared with known results of direct numerical simulations. It is shown that the universality of the clustering process can take place if the characteristic cluster size is smaller than the shear scale.     

Resonant propagation of femtosecond laser pulse in DBASVP molecule：one-dimensional asymmetric organic molecule

We have investigated the resonant propagation of femtosecond laser pulse in 4-trans-[p-（N, N-Di-n-butylamino）- p-stilbenyl vinyl] pyridine medium with permanent dipole moments. The electronic structures and parameters for the compound have been calculated by using density functional theory. In the optical regime, there is one charge-transfer state, and the molecule can thus be simplified as a two-level system. Both the one- and two-photon transitions occur between the ground and charge-transfer states. The numerical results show that the permanent dipole moments have an obvious effect on the propagation of the ultrashort pulse laser. The ideal self-induced transparency disappears for 2π pulse, and second harmonic spectral components occur significantly due to the two-photon absorption process. For the 6π pulse, continuum frequency generation is produced and a shorter duration pulse in time domain with 465 as is obtained.     

Thresholds for front-side ablation and rear-side spallation of metal foil irradiated by femtosecond laser pulse

The mechanical action of laser exposure on a foil may result in the ablation of irradiated front layer and the rear-side spallation. The dynamics of an Al foil is studied by means of two-temperature (2T) hydrodynamics and molecular dynamics (MD). It is found that the rear-side spallation threshold F _s exceeds the front-side ablation threshold F _a. We propose to extend the common approach in laser-matter experiments by pump–probe measuring of the rear-side displacement.     

In situ third-order interferometric autocorrelation of a femtosecond deep-ultraviolet pulse

The interferometric measurement of an ultrashort optical pulse is demonstrated using three-photon ionization of Xe in a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MS). This approach allowed measurement of the third-order fringe-resolved autocorrelation trace of an ultrashort optical pulse in the deep-ultraviolet (DUV) region. The pulse can be measured in situ using the same MS that is employed in ultrafast spectroscopy. Sensitivity (>3×10⁷ W) was sufficient to measure a DUV pulse used in such applications. This setup has the potential to measure the temporal duration of a broadband (204–306 nm) ultrashort optical pulse with no additional distortion in the temporal characteristics.     

Ultrashort-pulse laser irradiation of metal films: the effect of a double-peak laser pulse

The optical properties of blue-violet InGaN light-emitting diodes under normal and reversed polarizations are numerically studied. The best light-emitting performance under normal and reversed polarization is obtained in a single quantum-well structure and double quantum-well structure, respectively. The key factors responsible for these phenomena are presumably the carrier concentration distribution and the amount of carriers in quantum wells. The turn-on voltage of light-emitting diodes under reversed polarization is lower than that of light-emitting diodes under normal polarization, due mainly to lower potential heights for electrons and holes in the active region.     

Writing of internal gratings in optical glass with a femtosecond laser

The writing of an internal diffraction grating in optical glass plate is demonstrated using low-density plasma formation excited by a high-intensity femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser. The same diffraction efficiency at ±1,±2, and 0 order is achieved by multiple layers writing. The dependences of diffractive efficiency on the irradiated energy, the speed of writing, the numerical aperture (NA) of the focusing objective, and materials are investigated in detail. The grating is birefringent. It is attributed to residual stress interaction between glass and femtosecond laser pulse.     

Ghost imaging with partially coherent light radiation through turbulent atmosphere

Based on the classical optical coherent theory and the extended Huygens-Fresnel integral, ghost imaging with partially coherent light radiation through turbulent atmosphere has been studied. The analytical ghost-imaging formulas have been derived. Based on these formulas and the numerical calculation results, we find that the image quality is influenced by the turbulence strength, the propagation distance, and the coherent parameters of the partially coherent light.     

Propagation of Helmholtz-Gauss beams in weak turbulent atmosphere

Based on the Rytov approximation of light propagation in weak turbulent atmosphere,the closed-form expressions of field and average irradiance of each one of the four fundamental families of Helmholtz-Gauss (HzG) beams:cosine-Gauss beams,stationary Mathieu-Gauss beams,stationary parabolic-Gauss beams, and Bessel-Gauss beams,which are propagating in weak turbulent atmosphere,are obtained.The results show that the field and average irradiance can be written as the product of four factors:complex amplitude depending on the z-coordinate only,a Gaussian beam,a factor of complex phase perturbation induced by atmospheric turbulence,and a complex scaled version of the transverse shape of the non-diffracting beam. The effect of weak atmospheric turbulence on irradiance distribution of the HzG beam can be ignored.     

Design of segmented cladding fiber for femtosecond laser pulse delivery at 1550 and 1064 nm wavelengths

Segmented cladding fiber (SCF) is capable of single mode operation over an extended range of wavelengths while maintaining large mode area. In this paper we report the design of an SCF with mode area as large as 1,825  $\upmu \hbox {m}^{2}$ , suitable for delivery of high peak power femtosecond laser pulses at 1550 and 1064 nm wavelengths. An SCF with such a large-mode area is a few-moded fiber and its design requires careful choice of design parameters to have robustness against mode-coupling effects and bend loss. In this paper we address these issues and report a design of an SCF showing near distortion-free propagation of 100-fs, 53-kW peak power pulses at 1550-nm wavelength with 1,825- $\upmu \hbox {m}^{2}$ mode area through fundamental mode. The same fiber can also deliver 250-fs, 15-kW peak power pulses at 1064-nm wavelength with 1,793- $\upmu \hbox {m}^{2}$ mode area. The fiber has been analyzed by using the radial effective-index method in conjunction with transfer matrix method and the pulse propagation has been studied by solving the nonlinear Schroedinger equation by split-step Fourier method. Such a fiber would find applications in multiphoton microscopy and in biomedical engineering.     

Fabrication of microlens arrays in photosensitive glass by femtosecond laser direct writing

This article reports the fabrication of high-fill-factor plano-convex cylindrical and spherical microlens arrays horizontally and vertically embedded in a photosensitive Foturan glass chip by femtosecond (fs) laser micromachining. The microlens arrays were fabricated by modifying the microstructure of Foturan glass using fs laser direct writing followed by thermal treatment, wet etching, and additional annealing. The focusing ability and image quality of the microlens arrays were examined, showing that the lens arrays not only can focus light well but also provide an imaging capability that holds great potential for lab-on-a-chip applications.     

Parallel ripple formation during femtosecond laser grooving of ceramic

The self-organized formation of ripples in the direction parallel to the groove during the femtosecond laser machining of microgrooves on aluminum nitride ceramic at laser fluences much higher than the single-pulse ablation threshold is reported. These parallel ripples are notably different from the commonly observed polarization-perpendicular ripples and are produced in grooves having an appropriate width and depth, irrespective of laser polarization. From subsequent experiments with narrow and wide groove widths, it could be considered that the groove walls play an important role in the formation of these parallel ripples, possibly by confining the laser-induced plasma.     

Average intensity and spreading of super Lorentz–Gauss modes in turbulent atmosphere

The super Lorentz–Gaussian (SLG) modes has been introduced to describe the radiation emitted by the multi-mode diode lasers. Here the propagation properties of SLG modes in turbulent atmosphere are investigated. Based on the extended Huygens–Fresnel integral and the Hermite–Gaussian expansion of a Lorentzian function, analytical formulae for the average intensities and the effective beam sizes of SLG₀₁ and SLG₁₁ modes are derived in turbulent atmosphere. The average intensity distribution and the spreading properties of SLG₀₁ and SLG₁₁ modes in turbulent atmosphere are numerically demonstrated. The influences of the beam parameters and the structure constant of the atmospheric turbulence on the propagation of SLG₀₁ and SLG₁₁ modes in turbulent atmosphere are also discussed in detail.     

Comparison of plume expansion in femtosecond laser ablation on oxidized and non-oxidized Sm surfaces

Time development of Sm⁺ and Sm ablation plume produced by the femtosecond laser irradiation has been investigated. The two-dimensional spatial profiles of Sm and Sm⁺ emitted from oxidized and non-oxidized Sm surface were visualized using a planar laser-induced fluorescence method. It was observed that the flow velocity of Sm⁺ is much faster than that of Sm plume in both surfaces. The plumes from the oxidized Sm surface show higher velocity than that from non-oxidized surface, which is originated by the small electric conductivity at the surface. Expansion property observed for Sm⁺ and Sm plume in the oxidized Sm surface ablation implies the formation of the Knundsen layer nearby the surface. Meanwhile, continuous emission of Sm indicates the large contribution of heating effect to emission process at the non-oxidized surface. We conclude that the fsLA process strongly depends on the electric property of the ablated surface and the heating effect contributes to the particle emission process on the conductive material surface.     

M 2-factor of a partially coherent Lorentz–Gauss beam in a turbulent atmosphere

Based on the second-order moments of partially coherent beams in atmospheric turbulence, the analytical beam propagation factor of a partially coherent Lorentz–Gauss beam in a turbulent atmosphere is derived. As a special case of the general formula, the beam propagation factor of a partially coherent Lorentz beam in a turbulent atmosphere is also presented. By using the derived analytical expression, the beam propagation factor is illustrated and analyzed with numerical examples, and the influences of the beam parameters a _j and w _0j , the coherent parameter τ _j , the axial propagation distance z, the structure constant C_n²C_{n}^{2}, and the inner scale turbulence l ₀ on the beam propagation factor are also discussed in detail.