Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Focusing limits of a terawatt laser in an underdense plasma

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

The focusing of an intense 1053-nm, 1-ps laser pulse in an argon gas vapor has been studied. Experimental results are reported for different gas pressures and incident laser powers. In this paper we show that defocusing can occur and that it is sensitive both to the incident laser power and to the argon gas pressure in the experimental chamber. It is suggested that such a phenomenon is due to the refractive index of the plasma created by optical-field-induced ionization of the gas in the leading edge of the laser pulse. We show that it is not possible to obtain simultaneously a high focused intensity (>1017 W/cm2) and a high electron density (>1019 cm−3).

© 1992 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Focusing limits of ultrashort laser pulses: analytical theory

Ernst E. Fill
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 11(11) 2241-2245 (1994)

Ionization-induced frequency shifts in intense femtosecond laser pulses

B. M. Penetrante, J. N. Bardsley, W. M. Wood, C. W. Siders, and M. C. Downer
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 9(11) 2032-2040 (1992)

Harmonic generation from ions in underdense aluminum and lithium–fluorine plasmas

K. Krushelnick, W. Tighe, and S. Suckewer
J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 14(7) 1687-1691 (1997)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Figures (8)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Figure files are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (3)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved