Tight focusing of femtosecond elliptically polarised vortex light pulses

This paper studies the tight focusing properties of femtosecond elliptically polarised vortex light pulses. Based on Richards--Wolf vectorial diffraction integral, the expressions for the electric field, the velocity of the femtosecond light pulse and the total angular momentum of focused pluses are derived. The numerical calculations are also given to illustrate the intensity distribution, phase contour, the group velocity variation and the total angular momentum near the focus. It finds that near the focus the femtosecond elliptically polarised vortex light pulse can travel at various group speeds, that is, slower or faster than light speed in vacuum, depending on the numerical aperture of the focusing objective system. Moreover, it also studies the influence of the numerical aperture of the focusing objective and the time duration of the elliptically polarised vortex light pulse on the total angular momentum distribution in the focused field.     

Near-field modification of femtosecond laser beam to enhance single-shot pulse filamentation in glass medium

In this paper, a study of the effect of a transparent dielectric medium (soda-lime glass placed after an objective lens) on femtosecond pulse filamentation in Corning Eagle²⁰⁰⁰ glass is presented. The dielectric medium placed after the objective lens increases the effective numerical aperture of the focusing lens and tightly focuses the beam to elevate the power density in a tiny focal volume. A single-shot narrow filamentary void of diameter 3.8 μm is observed to propagate as long as 700 μm in Corning Eagle²⁰⁰⁰ glass. Elevated optical intensity confined in the small focal volume and low ionization losses per unit length in the narrow plasma column collectively enhance the filamentary propagation of the ultra-short pulse in bulk glass. The applied technique also offers an approach to control the length and width of a filamentary void structure in a transparent dielectric medium.     

Bulk femtosecond laser marking of natural diamonds

Point-by-point multi-shot femtosecond laser writing of micro-scale linear damage tracks and symbolic logo information was performed inside single-crystal natural diamonds in transversal writing geometry at variable basic operational parameters (numerical aperture of focusing optics, depth of focusing inside samples and peak laser pulse powers). The filamentary character of femtosecond laser writing of buried damage tracks in this material at the supercritical peak laser powers was revealed.     

Deep subsurface optical waveguides produced by direct writing with femtosecond laser pulses in fused silica and phosphate glass

In the present work, we have analyzed the use of elliptical beam shaping along with low numerical aperture focusing optics in order to produce circular cross-section waveguides in different materials at large processing depths by direct femtosecond laser writing (100 fs, 800 nm, 1 kHz). A variable slit located before the focusing optics allows to generate a nearly elliptical beam shape and also to reduce the effective numerical aperture of the beam along the shat axis of the ellipse. The focusing optics allows to focus the beam deep inside the sample, which is translated at a constant speed transversely to the writing beam direction. The influence of several experimental parameters (energy per pulse, slit width, processing depth) on the properties of the produced waveguides has been analyzed. The influence of the intrinsic properties of the material (refractive index, composition) has been analyzed by comparing results obtained in fused silica and Er:Yb co-doped phosphate glass. The results obtained show that this approach leads to the successful production of deep subsurface (up to 7 mm) waveguides with circular cross-sections. Preliminary results using chirped pulses in the phosphate glass suggest that temporal pulse shaping can be used as an additional parameter to optimize the guided mode symmetry.     

On the focusing limit of high-power femtosecond laser pulse propagation in air

Focused propagation of high-power femtosecond laser radiation in air is considered. Based on numerical solution of the nonlinear Schr?dinger equation for complex envelope of light wave electric field, evolution of the beam effective radius is studied. The dependence of the effective (rms) size of a focal spot and the maximally achievable intensity of laser radiation at focal waist on the initial pulse power is established. It is shown that focal spot of tightly focused intensive ultrashort laser radiation can change its size during the pulse passage through the beam waist. This is the consequence of pulse intensity clamping in region of beam focusing caused by gas photoionization and plasma producing. This may prevent laser intensity from its further growth in the focal region and arrest the transversal compression of the beam in the linear focus as a whole.     

Multiple foci and a long filament observed with focused femtosecond pulse propagation in fused silica

Multiple foci and a long filament are observed when we focus a femtosecond laser pulse into a fused-silica sample. The dependences of the intensity distribution of the plasma luminescence on the pulse energy and the numerical aperture (NA) of the focusing objective are investigated. Multiple foci are observed when NA of 相似文献   

Self-focusing of profiled ultrashort-wavelength laser beams in air

We report on the results of laboratory experiments of filamentation of sharply focused gigawatt femtosecond laser radiation passed through various aperture diaphragms in air. For the multiple filamentation regime, the dependences of the length and spatial structure of the filamentation region on the initial beam profile are established. It is found that light beam profiling by a diaphragm leads in some cases to a displacement of the filamentation region and to repeated self-focusing of radiation behind the linear focal waist. In the beam of the same power in the absence of a diaphragm and in the regime of the formation of a single filament, this effect terminates in front of the geometrical focus. The experimental results are illustrated by numerical simulation data.     

Single-shot front-side nanoscale femtosecond laser ablation of a thin silver film

Nano- and microscale holes, as well as related sub-ablative nanospikes and sub-micron bumps, were produced in a 30-nm thick silver film on a silica substrate by single femtosecond laser pulses with variable pulse energies, focused by different strong focusing optics. Characteristic laser energy deposition dimensions exceed the expected focal spots by nearly 2 microns, indicating the considerable lateral thermal transport in the film, while the effective hole formation thresholds decrease versus increasing numerical aperture of focusing optics. Morphologies of the sub-ablative solidified surface nanostructures and numerical estimates of deposited volume energy density undermine blowing-off the molten film due to subsurface boiling and near-critical phase explosion at lower and higher sub-threshold fluences, respectively.     

Laser micro-machining using near-field optics

Solid immersion lenses (SIL) facilitate high numerical aperture (NA) and consequent sub-wavelength diffraction limited focusing in near-field optics based systems. Such systems are in commercial and research use for various applications including near-field scanning optical microscopy, ultra-high-density magneto-optic data storage and near-field nanolithography. Here, we present a novel manufacturing method using SIL-based near-field optics for laser-induced patterning on silicon wafers. The near-field effect of SILs was investigated by using hemispherical lenses made of three different materials (BK7, Sapphire, LaSFN9) to superfocus an incident Q-switched, 532 nm Nd:YAG laser beam transmitted through a focusing objective. This optical arrangement achieved a laser-processed feature resolution near the diffraction limit in air. Results of experiments that were conducted at various processing conditions to investigate the effects of varying incident laser power (with peak pulse power less than 1 W), pulse width, number of pulses and size of SIL on processed feature size and resolution are presented. Experimental results are compared with numerical simulations using the simplified model.     

飞秒激光光镊横向光学力的理论分析

旨在将飞秒激光脉冲序列视为对连续光的周期抽样结果,分析飞秒激光脉冲序列作为光镊光源捕获电介质微粒时产生的横向光学力,并给出受光微粒所受横向光学势阱力的理论模型及计算公式.数值计算结果表明,飞秒激光脉冲所产生的横向光学力能抵消由于布朗运动引起的微粒中心偏移的影响,实现对微粒的稳定束缚.     

飞秒光孤立波解传输的稳定性分析

针对高阶非线性薛定谔方程任意参量下的飞秒光孤立波解，用数值演化方法考察了该光脉冲在受到各种初始扰动时的稳定性。结果表明：当飞秒光脉冲受到振幅及波形扰动时可以稳定传输，对于随机噪声及啁啾的扰动，在一定范围内也可传输，这有可能为进一步实现飞秒光脉冲在光纤中的无畸变传输提供一定的理论依据。     

Self-compression of femtosecond pulses in argon with a power close to the self-focusing threshold

Self-compression of femtosecond pulses in noble gases with an input power close to the self-focusing threshold has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. It is demonstrated that either multiphoton ionization （MPI） or space-time focusing and self-steepening effects can induce pulse shortening, but they predominate at different beam intensities during the propagation. The latter effects play a key role in the final pulse self-compression. By choosing an appropriate focusing parameter, action distance of the space-time focusing and self-steepening effects can be lengthened, which can promote a shock pulse structure with a duration as short as two optical cycles. It is also found that, for our calculation cases in which an input pulse power is close to the self-focusing threshold, either group velocity dispersion （GVD） or multiphoton absorption （MPA） has a negligible influence on pulse characteristics in the propagation process.     

In-bulk and surface structuring of sapphire by femtosecond pulses

The actual space-time dependent intensity distribution of a tightly focused (numerical aperture NA = 1.35) Gaussian femtosecond pulse is modeled inside dielectric material. Such focusing is typically used for recording with sub-wavelength resolution inside dielectrics. The multi-pulse structuring inside the bulk and on the surface of sapphire are demonstrated. Formation of nano-cracks and nano-crystals is revealed inside the crystalline sapphire. Ripple formation on the surface is discussed in terms of the efficacy map calculated by theory given in ref. [J.E. Sipe, J.F. Young, J.S. Preston, H.M. van Driel, Laser-induced periodic surface structure. I. Theory, Phys. Rev. B 27 (2) (1983) 1141-1154.].     

周期量级长波长光源，极端非线性光学以及阿秒科学

介绍了长波长光源的发展以及其在非线性光学以及强场物理方面的应用。长波长光源的产生以各种方式推动了强场和阿秒物理学的发展：在隧穿机制下光电离的研究,用于X射线成像的飞秒量级KeV辐射源的产生。考虑到这些前景,何如产生高能量、长波长以及周期量级的光源是一件非常有挑战性的工作。在过去几年,一直致力于产生和发展波长在2～3μm、载波相位稳定,周期量级的强光源,其重复频率从几千赫兹到百千赫兹。重点介绍这些光源的发展,以及脉冲相关测量的方法。此外,以某一种光源作为例子来介绍其在多倍频超连续谱的产生,分子的电离动力学以及阿秒光源生产等方面的应用。     

Experimentally verified pulse formation model for high-power femtosecond VECSELs

Optically pumped vertical-external-cavity surface-emitting lasers (OP-VECSELs), passively modelocked with a semiconductor saturable absorber mirror (SESAM), have generated the highest average output power from any sub-picosecond semiconductor laser. Many applications, including frequency comb synthesis and coherent supercontinuum generation, require pulses in the sub-300-fs regime. A quantitative understanding of the pulse formation mechanism is required in order to reach this regime while maintaining stable, high-average-power performance. We present a numerical model with which we have obtained excellent quantitative agreement with two recent experiments in the femtosecond regime, and we have been able to correctly predict both the observed pulse duration and the output power for the first time. Our numerical model not only confirms the soliton-like pulse formation in the femtosecond regime, but also allows us to develop several clear guidelines to scale the performance toward shorter pulses and higher average output power. In particular, we show that a key VECSEL design parameter is a high gain saturation fluence. By optimizing this parameter, 200-fs pulses with an average output power of more than 1 W should be possible.     

Light field characteristics of reflective thin-films irradiated by femtosecond laser pulses

The formation of interference field in optical thin-films is a process of unsteady state when irradiated by femtosecond pulses. Based on the methods of plane-wave decomposition and the using of thin-film characteristic matrix, the model is presented focusing on the issues of mirror reflectance and internal light field in femtosecond timescale. The numerical results reveal that with the decrease of the pulse width a reduction of reflection performance occurs. In addition, the traditional approach that simplifies the incident femtosecond pulse to monochromatic continuous wave cannot get the exact value of the light field magnitude and the temporal profile of ultrashort laser pulse should be taken into account to reach more accurate results.     

PMP泡沫的飞秒激光烧蚀及切割方法

对密度为90 mg/cm3的PMP泡沫材料的飞秒激光烧蚀结果进行了分析,推导出该材料在脉宽50 fs、波长800 nm、重复频率为1000 Hz的飞秒激光作用下的蚀除阈值为0.91 J/cm2（100个激光脉冲）,获得了烧蚀直径分别随激光功率、脉冲数及聚焦物镜数值孔径的变化规律。相同飞秒激光加工系统下,对比了铜箔上获得的烧蚀形状,确定了PMP泡沫材料本身的多孔洞及其分布不均匀是造成烧蚀区域的形状不规则的重要因素。PMP泡沫在较高能量或是较长时间的飞秒激光作用下,烧蚀区域发生碳化的原因是由热作用引发的。提出了一种基于激光束耦合的飞秒激光切割厚度大于1 mm的薄膜-泡沫材料的方法,并获得了切割厚度大于1.5 mm、切割侧壁与光束光轴夹角小于5、切割面整洁的薄片。     

基于计算机的光衍射的数值计算与显示

本文研究了基于计算机的光场分布的数值计算与显示方法。从光的菲涅尔衍射、波前相位重构入手,对连续信号进行了离散化处理,给出了数值计算公式。对光波通过矩形孔径、传播后的光场分布进行了数值计算与显示。仿真结果表明数值计算更加直观地展现了光的特性,并提供可视化的验证。