Memory in Nonlinear Ionization of Transparent Solids
- National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, K1A 0R6 (Canada)
- Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, K1N 6N5 (Canada)
We demonstrate a shot-to-shot reduction in the threshold laser intensity for ionization of bulk glasses illuminated by intense femtosecond pulses. For SiO{sub 2} the threshold change serves as positive feedback reenforcing the process that produced it. This constitutes a memory in nonlinear ionization of the material. The threshold change saturates with the number of pulses incident at a given spot. Irrespective of the pulse energy, the magnitude of the saturated threshold change is constant ({approx}20%). However, the number of shots required to reach saturation does depend on the pulse energy. Recognition of a memory in ionization is vital to understand multishot optical or electrical breakdown phenomena in dielectrics.
- OSTI ID:
- 20861518
- Journal Information:
- Physical Review Letters, Vol. 97, Issue 25; Other Information: DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.253001; (c) 2006 The American Physical Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0031-9007
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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