Abstract
A theoretical study of power loss from periphery of an ultrashort pulse laser beam and temporally resolved defocusing produced by laser-induced plasma are performed using paraxial approximation. Our analysis incorporates consideration of spatial distribution of the laser beam irradiance and the results show that substantial power losses (10-80%) occur from the beam periphery limiting the length of a filament. It was also shown that the generally accepted concept of self-focusing critical power is inconsistent with consideration of self-induced refraction of spatially distributed laser beam. A new criterion for self-focusing and hypothesis for multiple filamentation are proposed.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 185502 |
Journal | Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 18 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - May 8 2013 |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Acoustics and Ultrasonics
- Surfaces, Coatings and Films