Long range robust multi-terawatt MWIR and LWIR atmospheric light bullets

Autor: Moloney, Jerome V., Schuh, Kolja, Panagiotopoulos, Paris, Kolesik, M., Koch, S. W.
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
Druh dokumentu: Článek
ISSN: 0277-786X
1996-756X
DOI: 10.1117/12.2262142
Popis: There is a strong push worldwide to develop multi-Joule femtosecond duration laser pulses at wavelengths around 3.5-4 and 9-11 mu m within important atmospheric transmission windows. We have shown that pulses with a 4 mu m central wavelength are capable of delivering multi-TW powers at km range. This is in stark contrast to pulses at near-IR wavelengths which break up into hundreds of filaments with each carrying around 5 GW of power per filament over meter distances. We will show that nonlinear envelope propagators fail to capture the true physics. Instead a new optical carrier shock singularity emerges that can act to limit peak intensities below the ionization threshold leading to low loss long range propagation. At LWIR wavelengths many-body correlations of weakly-ionized electrons further suppress the Kerr focusing nonlinearity around 10 mu m and enable whole beam self-trapping without filaments.
Databáze: Networked Digital Library of Theses & Dissertations