Effect of power losses on self-focusing of high-intensity laser beam in gases

V. V. Semak, M. N. Shneider

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

16 Scopus citations

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 languageEnglish (US)
Article number185502
JournalJournal of Physics D: Applied Physics
Volume46
Issue number18
DOIs
StatePublished - May 8 2013

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Acoustics and Ultrasonics
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

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