Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: Probing remote matter with laser light is a ubiquitous technique used in circumstances as diverse as laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and barcode scanners. In classical optics, the intensity that can be brought to bear on a remote target is limited by the spot size of the laser at the distance of the target. This spot size has a lower bound determined by the diffraction limit of classical optics. However, amplified femtosecond laser pulses generate intensity sufficient to modify the refractive index of the ambient air and undergo self-focusing. This self-focusing effect leads to the generation of highly intense laser filaments which maintain their intensity and small sub-millimeter diameter size at distances well beyond the classical Rayleigh length. Such intensity provides the capability of remote scanning, imaging, sensing, and spectroscopy with enhanced spatial resolution. We describe a technique for generating filaments with a femtosecond regenerative chirped-pulse amplifier, and for using the resulting filament to conduct imaging and spectroscopic measurements at remote distances of at least several meters.
DOI: 10.3791/58207
Authors: Matthews M. Springer, Benjamin D. Strycker, Kai Wang, Alexei V. Sokolov, Marlan O. Scully
Institutions: Texas A&M University, Baylor University
Language: English
Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2942261418