Abstract
We demonstrate the key role played by the spatial characteristics and focusing conditions of a femtosecond multi-cycle laser pulse in optimization of filament output for the purpose of obtaining compressed light pulses in the few-cycle regime. We find that for a given beam profile and focal parameters, driving the filament with energy above a certain limiting value can negatively impact pulse compression. However, for a given energy, a smaller and cleaner input beam mode obtained by using a hard aperture can substantially improve the pulse compression ability. In addition, we show that a larger focal volume can assist in creation of a shorter output pulse.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 23894-23902 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Optics Express |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 26 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 21 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics