Improved laser triggering and guiding of meqavolt discharges with dual fs-ns pulses

Journal Article · Mon Jan 09 00:00:00 EST 2006 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2162430· OSTI ID:20778501

Mejean, Guillaume; Ackermann, Roland; Kasparian, Jerome; Salmon, Estelle; Jin, Yu; Wolf, Jean-Pierre; Rethmeier, Kay; Kalkner, Wilfried; Rohwetter, Philipp; Stelmaszczyk, Kamil; Woeste, Ludger ^[1]

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1. Teramobile, LASIM UMR CNRS 5579, Universite Lyon 1, 43 bd du 11 Novembre 1918, F-69622 Villeurbanne Cedex (France)

We demonstrate that the capacity of ultrashort high-power laser pulses to trigger and guide high-voltage discharges can be significantly enhanced by a subsequent visible nanosecond laser pulse. The femtosecond pulse induces a bundle of filaments, which creates a conducting channel of low density and cold plasma connecting the electrodes. The subsequent laser pulse photodetaches electrons from O{sub 2}{sup -} ions in the electrode leader. The resulting electrons allow efficient heating by Joule effect in a retroaction loop, resulting in a 5% reduction of the breakdown voltage.

• OSTI ID: 20778501
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 88, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2162430; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
CAPACITY
COLD PLASMA
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ELECTRODES
ELECTRONS
LASERS
LIGHT TRANSMISSION
PLASMA DENSITY
PLASMA HEATING
PULSES