Vol. 35, issue 05, article # 1

Abstract:

Propagation of high-power phase-modulated femtosecond laser pulses in air is numerically simulated. Spatial modulation of the initial pulse wavefront is carried out using a programmable phase plate consisting of segments arranged in a checkerboard pattern with a variable wave phase jump. The self-focusing, filamentation and post-filamentation channeling of radiation for phase-modulating masks with different phase shifts at the boundaries of neighboring segments are studied within the numerical solution of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation for the time-averaged electric field amplitude. The filamentation domain in air for certain pulse phase modulation types is shown to be significantly shifted (along the coordinate) and elongated compared to an unmodulated pulse. In addition, it is found that the use of phase modulation makes it possible to reduce the angular divergence of high-intensity light channels generated during the post-filamentation propagation stage. This provides a possibility of self-channeling of radiation at distances multiple of the Rayleigh length.

Keywords:

femtosecond laser pulse, phase modulation, self-focusing, filamentation, self-channeling, post-filamentation channel

References:

1. Self-focusing: Past and Present. Fundamentals and Prospects / R.W. Boyd, S.G. Lukishova, Y.R. Shen (eds.). Berlin: Springer, 2009. 605 р.
2. Couairon A., Mysyrowicz A. Femtosecond filamentation in transparent media // Phys. Rep. 2007. V. 441. P. 47–189.
3. Chekalin S.V., Kandidov V.P. Ot samofokusirovki svetovyh puchkov – k filamentatsii lazernyh impul'sov // Uspekhi fiz. nauk. 2013. V. 183, N 2. P. 133–152.
4. Woste L., Wedekind C., Wille H., Rairoux P., Stein B., Nikolov S., Werner Chr., Niedermeier S., Schillinger H., Sauerbrey R. Femtosecond atmospheric lamp // Laser Optoelektron. 1997. V. 29. P. 51–53.
5. Rodriguez M., Bourayou R., Méjean G., Kasparian J., Yu J., Salmon E., Scholz A., Stecklum B., Eislöffel J., Laux U., Hatzes A.P., Sauerbrey R., Wöste L., Wolf J.-P. Kilometer-range nonlinear propagation of femtosecond laser pulses // Phys. Rev. E. V. 2004, N 69. P. 036607-1–036607-7.
6. Ackermann R., Mechain G., Mejean G., Bourayou R., Rodriguez M., Stelmaszczyk K., Kasparian J., Yu J., Salmon E., Tzortzakis S., Andre Y.B., Bourrillon J.F., Tamin L., Cascelli J.P., Campo C., Davoise C., Mysyrowicz A., Sauerbrey R., Woste L., Wolf J.-P. Influence of negative leader propagation on the triggering and guiding of high voltage discharges by laser filaments // Appl. Phys. B. 2006. V. 82. P. 561–566.
7. Durand M., Houard A., Prade B., Mysyrowicz A., Durécu A., Moreau B., Fleury D., Vasseur O., Borchert H., Diener K., Schmitt R., Théberge F., Chateauneuf M., Daigle J.-F., Dubois J. Kilometer range filamentation // Opt. Express. 2013. V. 21, iss. 22. P. 26836–26845.
8. Geints Yu.E., Zemlyanov A.A. Ring-Gaussian laser pulse filamentation in a self-induced diffraction waveguide // J. Opt. 2017. V. 19. P. 105502.
9. Kompanets V.O., Chekalin S.V., Kosareva O.G., Grigor'evskij A.V., Kandidov V.P. Konicheskaya emissiya femtosekundnogo lazernogo impul'sa pri fokusirovke aksikonom v steklo K 108 // Kvant. elektron. 2006. V. 36, N 9. P. 821–824.
10. Mills M., Heinrich M., Kolesik M., Christodoulides D. Extending optical filaments using auxiliary dress beams // J. Phys. B. 2015. V. 48, N 9. P. 094014.
11. Gejnts Yu.E., Zemlyanov A.A. Zakonomernosti femtosekundnoj filamentatsii pri superpozitsii gaussova i kol'tsevogo lazernyh puchkov // Kvant. elektron. 2017. V. 47, N 8. P. 722–729.
12. Geints Y.E., Zemlyanov А.А. Dynamics of femtosecond synthesized coronary profile laser beam filamentation in air // J. Opt. 2021. V. 23, N 10. P. 105502.
13. Pushkarev D.V., Lar’kin A.S., Mitina E.V., Zhidovtsev N.A., Uryupina D.S., Volkov R.V., Karpeev S.V., Khonina S.N., Karabutov A.A., Geints Yu.E., Kosareva O.G., Savel’ev A.B. Robust multifilament arrays in air by Dammann grating // Opt. Express. 2021. V. 29. P. 34189–34204.
14. Berge L., Skupin S., Lederer F., Méjean G., Yu J., Kasparian J., Salmon E., Wolf J.-P., Rodriguez M., Woste L., Bourayou R., Sauerbrey R. Multiple filamentation of terawatt laser pulses in air // Phys. Rev. Lett. 2004. V. 92. P. 225002.
15. Perelomov A.M., Popov V.S., Terent'ev M.V. Ionizatsiya atomov v peremennom elektricheskom pole // ZhTEF. 1966. V. 50. P. 1393–1397.
16. Geints Yu.E., Kabanov A.M., Zemlyanov A.A., Bykova E.E., Bukin O.A., Golik S.S. Kerr-driven nonlinear refractive index of air at 800 and 400 nm measured through femtosecond laser pulse filamentation // Appl. Phys. Lett. 2011. V. 99. P. 181114.
17. Méchain G., Couairon A., André Y.-B., D’Amico C., Franco M., Prade B., Tzortzakis S., Mysyrowicz A., Sauerbrey R. Long-range self-channeling of infrared laser pulses in air: A new propagation regime without ionization // Appl. Phys. B. 2004. V. 79, iss. 3. P. 379–382.
18. Gejnts Yu.E., Zemlyanov A.A., Ionin A.A., Mokrousova D.V., Seleznev L.V., Sinitsyn D.V., Sunchugasheva E.S. Sravnitel'nyj analiz postfokal'noj filamentatsii sfokusirovannyh lazernyh impul'sov UF- i IK-izlucheniya v vozduhe // Kvant. elektron. 2015. V. 45, N 4. P. 321–329.
19. Daigle J.-F., Kosareva O.G., Panov N.A., Wang T.-J., Hosseini S., Yuan S., Roy G., Chin S.L. Formation and evolution of intense, post-filamentation, ionization-free low divergence beams // Opt. Commun. 2011. V. 284. P. 3601–3606.
20. Couairon A., Brambilla E., Corti T., Majus D., Ramırez-Gongora O. de J., Kolesik M. Practitioner’s guide to laser pulse propagation models and simulation // Eur. Phys. J. Special Top. 2011. V. 199. P. 5–76.
21. Geints Yu.E., Zemlyanov A.A. Near- and mid-IR ultrashort laser pulse filamentation in a molecular atmosphere: A comparative analysis // Appl. Opt. 2017. V. 56. P. 1397–1403.
22. Zemlyanov A.A., Bulygin A.D., Gejnts Yu.E., Minina O.V. Dinamika svetovyh struktur pri filamentatsii femtosekundnyh lazernyh impul'sov v vozduhe // Optika atmosf. i okeana. 2016. V. 29, N 5. P. 359–368; Zemlyanov A.A., Bulygin A.D., Geints Yu.E., Minina O.V. Dynamics of light structures during filamentation of femtosecond laser pulses in air // Atmos. Ocean. Opt. 2016. V. 29, N 5. Р. 395–403.
23. Mills M., Christodoulides D., Kolesik M. Dressed optical filaments // Opt. Lett. 2013. V. 38. P. 25–27.