Observation of light filaments induced in air by visible picosecond laser pulses

We report the observation of light filaments produced by a picosecond laser pulse in the visible. The pulse trapped in the filamentary mode experiences large-scale self-phase modulation, with almost 100-fold spectral broadening along with apparent shortening of the leading edge. Spatial-temporal properties of the light filament reveal rather complex propagation dynamics. Received: 7 August 2002 / Revised version: 12 September 2002 / Published online: 11 December 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +370-2/3660-06, E-mail: audrius.dubietis@ff.vu.lt     

Filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in turbulent air

Formation and wandering of filaments in air are studied both experimentally and numerically. Filament-center deflections are collected from 1100 shots of 190-fs and 800-nm pulses in the plane perpendicular to the propagation direction. To calculate the filament wandering in air we have developed a model of powerful femtosecond laser pulse filamentation in the Kolmogorov atmospheric turbulence and employed the Monte Carlo method to model the propagation of several hundred laser pulses. Statistical processing of experimental and numerical data shows that filament-center displacements in the transverse plane obey the Rayleigh-distribution law. Parameters of the Rayleigh distribution obtained for numerical and experimental data are close to each other. Received: 23 May 2001 / Revised version: 26 September 2001 / Published online: 29 November 2001     

Self-compression and controllable guidance of multi-millijoule femtosecond laser pulses

Self-compression of multi-millijoule femtosecond laser pulses and dramatic increase of the peak intensity are found in pressurized helium and neon within a range of intensity in which the ionization modification of the material parameters by the pulse is negligible. The pulse propagation is studied by the (3 + 1)-dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation including basic lowest order optical processes - diffraction, second order of dispersion, and third order of nonlinearity. Smooth and well controllable pulse propagation dynamics is found. Construction of compressed pulses of controllable parameters at given space target point by a proper chose of the pulse energy and/or gas pressure is predicted.     

Ionization spectrum broadening and frequency blue-shift of high-intensity femtosecond laser pulses in gas-filled capillary tubes

. We report on the experimental and theoretical study of spectrum transformation and frequency blue-shift of femtosecond laser pulses with intensities up to 2×10¹⁶ W/cm², propagating in glass capillary tubes under gas ionization. Monomode optical guiding with 45% transmission efficiency is demonstrated in a 100-μm-diameter, 20-cm length capillary. A broadening of the initial spectrum as much as several initial spectrum widths is achieved. Besides the broadening, the mean frequency of the output radiation in the spectrum experiences a blue-shift of up to several initial spectrum widths, caused by the non-stationary, non-linear process of gas ionization. Our numerical simulations, in the form of a simple one-dimensional model for the propagation of intense laser pulses in gas-filled capillaries, are in good qualitative agreement with the experimental results. These simulations show the possibility of significant compression of an output pulse in a simple compression scheme (e.g. a piece of silica glass with normal dispersion), which is very important for obtaining laser pulses with few optical cycles at the millijoule energy level. Received: 25 September 2001 / Revised version: 6 December 2001 / Published online: 25 September 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +7-8312/363-792, E-mail: dekart@ufp.appl.sci-nnov.ru     

High-dynamic-range pulse-front steepening of amplified femtosecond pulses by third-order dispersion

Received: 9 June 1998/Revised version: 4 November 1998     

Deep drilling of metals by femtosecond laser pulses

Results of recent investigations on deep drilling of metals by femtosecond laser pulses are reported. At high laser fluences, well above the ablation threshold, femtosecond lasers can drill deep, high-quality holes in metals without any post-processing or special gas environment. It is shown that for high-quality drilling of metals, the following processes are important: (1) laser-induced optical breakdown of air containing metal vapor and small metal particles (debris) generated by multi-pulse femtosecond laser ablation, (2) transformation of laser pulses into light filaments, and (3) low-fluence finishing. Received: 15 November 2002 / Accepted: 20 January 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-511/2788-100, E-mail: ch@lzh.de     

Feedback-controlled optimization of amplified femtosecond laser pulses

Received: 17 December 1998     

Simultaneous measurement of pure-optical and thermo-optical nonlinearities induced by high-repetition-rate, femtosecond laser pulses: application to CS2

A simple experimental technique is presented capable of separating the contribution of purely optical Kerr effects from that of thermo-optical effects in the nonlinear response of materials under high-repetition-rate laser irradiation. The technique has been realized by combining the single-beam Z-scan method with the single-beam thermal lens measurement method. We demonstrate this technique by analysing the nonlinear response at 770 nm of CS₂ which exhibits cumulative thermal effects when irradiated by very intense femtosecond laser pulses at a 76-MHz repetition rate. Received: 3 November 1998 / Revised version: 4 January 1999 / Published online: 2 June 1999     

Electrical conductivity of long plasma channels in air generated by self-guided femtosecond laser pulses

e >10¹² cm^-3) in the filaments, which plays a crucial role in the interplay of diffraction and self-focussing, leading to the formation of long stable channels. These filaments may have applications for laser-triggered lightning. Received: 12 February 1999     

Tailored ablation processing of advanced biomedical hydroxyapatite by femtosecond laser pulses

The micromachining of hydroxyapatite (HAp) is highly important for orthopedics and dentistry, since human bone and teeth consist mainly of HAp. We demonstrate ultrashort Ti:sapphire laser ablation of HAp, using pulse-widths of 50 fs, 500 fs, and 2 ps at a wavelength of 820 nm and at 1 kpps. The crucial medical issue is to preserve the chemical properties of the machined (ablated) surface. If the chemical properties of HAp change, the human bone or tooth cannot re-grow after laser processing. Using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, we observe chemical properties of HAp ablated in air. The HAp is ablated at laser fluences of 3.2 J/cm² (6.4×10¹³ W/cm² at 50 fs), 3.3 J/cm² (6.6×10¹² W/cm² at 500 fs), and 9.6 J/cm² (4.8×10¹² W/cm² at 2 ps), respectively. As a result it is found that the ablated surface is unchanged after laser ablation over the pulse-width range used in this experiment. Received: 7 October 2002 / Accepted: 20 January 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-45/566-1533, E-mail: obara@obara.elec.keio.ac.jp     

Intensity clamping and re-focusing of intense femtosecond laser pulses in nitrogen molecular gas

We present results of measurements of fluorescence spectra due to the interaction of a Ti:sapphire laser pulse with N₂ molecules at different gas pressures and pulse energies. The analysis of the data together with the results of numerical simulations, using a propagation model, reveal signatures of the phenomena of intensity clamping and of re-focusing of the laser pulse at high gas pressure. The laser pulse energy for intensity clamping as a function of the gas pressure is determined. Received: 21 May 2001 / Revised version: 10 July 2001 / Published online: 19 September 2001     

Towards nanostructuring with femtosecond laser pulses

Detailed investigations of the possibilities for using femtosecond lasers for the nanostructuring of metal layers and transparent materials are reported. The aim is to develop a simple laser-based technology for fabricating two- and three-dimensional nanostructures with structure sizes on the order of several hundred nanometers. This is required for many applications in photonics, for the fabrication of photonic crystals and microoptical devices, for data storage, displays, etc. Measurements of thermionic electron emission from metal targets, which provide valuable information on the dynamics of femtosecond laser ablation, are discussed. Sub-wavelength microstructuring of metals is performed and the minimum structure size that can be fabricated in transparent materials is identified. Two-photon polymerization of hybrid polymers is demonstrated as a promising femtosecond laser-based nanofabrication technology. Received: 20 November 2002 / Accepted: 20 January 2003 / Published online: 28 May 2003 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +49-511/2788-100, E-mail: ch@lzh.de     

Laser Mode-Dependent Size of Plasma Zones Induced by Femtosecond Laser Pulses in Fused Silica

We carry out the numerical simulations of femtosecond laser propagation with TEMoo mode, TEM10 mode and a beam combining both the modes in fused silica. It is found that the transverse size of plasma zones induced by laser pulses with the TEM10 mode is smaller than that induced by the TEM00 mode, while the longitudinal size is almost the same, and the saturated plasma density is higher. The transverse size, the longitudinal size and the ratio of the longitudinal to transverse size, for the beam combining both the modes, all could be reduced at the same time in comparison with the TEM00 mode under the same focusing conditions.     

Experimental confirmation of high-stability of fluorescence in a femtosecond laser filament in air

Femtosecond laser filamentation is particularly interesting for remote sensing pollutant in the atmosphere. In this work, we investigate the local shot-to-shot stability of the filament induced fluorescence of nitrogen in air. It is found that the root-mean square fluctuation of the fluorescence signal is at least one order of magnitude lower than that of the linear propagation case. In practice, it would contribute to improve the robustness of long distance spectroscopic analysis of the fluorescence of pollutant molecules inside the filament. We further point out that this unique property of filament induced fluorescence spectroscopy is because of the intensity clamping, a profound phenomenon of filamentation.     

Low-threshold high-dynamic-range optical limiter for ultra-short laser pulses

We demonstrate an optical limiter for ultra-short (∼100-fs) laser pulses. The device has a dynamic range (= damage energy/onset-of-limiting energy) of more than 10000 and an onset-of-limiting energy of only ∼10 nJ. The output-pulse energy is kept below 1.3 μJ. The limiting mechanism is based on two-photon absorption and refractive nonlinearities in a 20-mm piece of ZnSe. We discuss the importance of the different nonlinearities, damage issues, and guidelines for the construction of the device. Received: 20 December 2001 / Revised version: 25 March 2002 / Published online: 8 May 2002     

Generation of femtosecond pulses by two-photon pumping supercontinuum-seeded collinear traveling wave amplification in a dye solution

Visible femtosecond (fs) laser pulses have been obtained in a dye solution with a very simple traveling wave collinear configuration. A femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser (790 nm) pumps the dye solution by two-photon absorption and simultaneously generates supercontinuum, which seeds a light-amplification mechanism. Cross-correlation frequency-resolved optical gating measurements reveal a chirped structure in the dye pulse. The shortest pulse duration achieved is 170 fs and the overall energy efficiency of the process is typically 25%. Received: 22 March 2001 / Revised version: 4 July 2001 / Published online: 19 September 2001     

In situ observation of dynamics of plasma self-channeling and bulk modification in silica glasses induced by a high-intensity femtosecond laser

The time-resolved dynamics of plasma self-channeling and refractive index bulk modification in silica glasses were first observed in situ using a high-intensity femtosecond (110 fs) Ti:sapphire laser (λ_p=790 nm). Plasma channeling is induced in silica glass at an irradiation higher than an input intensity of 1.5×10¹² W/cm² and photoinduces either the refractive-index modification or optical crack modification. In the domain of refractive-index modification, the lifetime of induced plasma self-channeling was 20 ps and the structural transition time for forming the refractive-index change was 10 ps. In the domain of optical cracks, however, the lifetime of induced plasma formation was 30 ps and the structural transition time for forming the optical cracks was 40 ps. According to electron spin resonance spectroscopic (ESP) measurement, it was found that the defect concentration of the SiE^′ center increased significantly in the refractive index modification region. A maximum value of the refractive-index change Δn was measured to be 1.6×10^-2. The intensity profile of the output beam transmitted through the refractive-index modification showed that the bulk modification produced a permanent optical waveguide. Received: 8 April 2002 / Accepted: 12 April 2002 / Published online: 22 November 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Corresponding author. Fax: +81-48/462-4682, E-mail: shcho@riken.go.jp     

Manifestations of sub- and superluminality in filamented femtosecond laser pulse in fused silica

Filamented propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in fused silica is studied using microscopy of Femtosecond Time-resolved Optical Polarigraphy (FTOP). Both super- and subluminal translation of axial intensity maxima in a 100 fs time scale has been directly recorded. The observed spatio-temporal periodicity of the pulse shape in longitudinal and transversal directions is tentatively interpreted as two projections on X and Y axes of the same fringe pattern formed by the interference of the axial part of the beam and spontaneously generated conical beam.     

Background reservoir: its crucial role for long-distance propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in air

We report an experiment to demonstrate the crucial effect of the so-called background reservoir during the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in air. The background reservoir was blocked by allowing only the filament to pass through a pinhole generated by the filament itself in an aluminum foil. We observed that the filamentation process is terminated immediately after the pinhole. Consequently, to achieve long-range filamentation, it is necessary to maintain the dynamic energy exchange between the reservoir and the self-foci.     

Self-action effects in ionization and fragmentation of toluene by femtosecond laser pulses

Occurrence and influence of several self-action effects, induced in the entrance window of a time-of-flight interaction chamber, on the ion and fragment yields of the toluene molecule in the focus of a Ti:sapphire laser pulse are analyzed. Experimental data are obtained using different focusing geometries and are compared with results from numerical simulations using a nonlinear pulse propagation model as well as those from the strong-field S-matrix theory. It is shown that (a) self-focusing leads to a displacement of the focus while amplified small perturbations of the input beam result in hot spots in the spatial distribution and in an energy-dependent focus area, (b) small self-phase modulation changes the form of the spectrum and broadens it slightly. A strong increase of the toluene fragmentation appears to correlate to linear and nonlinear changes in the focal spot area, while the scenario of excitation of Raman modes proposed in an earlier publication is ruled out as the dominant effect.This revised version was published online in March 2005. In the previous version, the published online date was missing