Open AccessPulse duration dependent nonlinear propagation of a focused femtosecond laser pulse in fused silica
Author(s) -
Quan Sun,
Hidenori Asahi,
Yoshiaki Nishijima,
Naoki Murazawa,
Kosei Ueno,
Hiroaki Misawa
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.18.024495
Subject(s) - filamentation , pulse duration , optics , femtosecond , pulse (music) , materials science , femtosecond pulse shaping , protein filament , multiphoton intrapulse interference phase scan , laser , self phase modulation , bandwidth limited pulse , ultrashort pulse , nonlinear optics , physics , detector , composite material
The nonlinear propagation of a single focused femtosecond laser pulse in fused silica has been investigated both experimentally and by numerical simulations. In particular, the filamentation behavior was systematically studied by varying pulse duration. At low pulse energy, the peak plasma density inside the filament first increases to a maximum value with increasing pulse duration and then begins to decrease. At relatively high pulse energy, denser plasma can be induced around the geometrical focus with a certain longer pulse duration, where the peak power is already below the self-focusing critical power and no filament is formed. This pulse duration dependent behavior can be explained by different ionization mechanisms.