Electric field vector measurements via nanosecond electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation

Journal Article · Mon Oct 21 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Optics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.45.001942· OSTI ID:1614787

Chng, Tat Loon ^[1]; Naphade, Maya ^[2]; Goldberg, Benjamin M. ^[3]; Adamovich, Igor V. ^[4]; Starikovskaia, Svetlana M. ^[1]

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1. Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau (France)
2. Princeton Univ., NJ (United States)
3. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
4. The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)

Electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation, or E-FISH, has received renewed interest as a nonintrusive tool for probing electric fields in gas discharges and plasmas using ultrashort laser pulses. An important contribution of this work lies in establishing that the E-FISH method works effectively in the nanosecond regime, yielding field sensitivities of about a kV/cm at atmospheric pressure from a 16 ns pulse. Here, this is expected to broaden its applicability within the plasma community, given the wider access to conventional nanosecond laser sources. A Pockels-cell-based pulse-slicing scheme, which may be readily integrated with such nanosecond laser systems, is shown to be a complementary and cost-effective option for improving the time resolution of the electric field measurement. Using this scheme, a time resolution of ~3 ns is achieved, without any detriment to the signal sensitivity. This could prove invaluable for nonequilibrium plasma applications, where time resolution of a few nanoseconds or less is often critical. Finally, we take advantage of the field vector sensitivity of the E-FISH signal to demonstrate simultaneous measurements of both the horizontal and vertical components of the electric field.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-CA), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: Agence Nationale de la Recherce (ASPEN); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
• OSTI ID: 1614787
• Alternate ID(s): OSTI ID: 1605623; OSTI ID: 1618080
• Report Number(s): SAND--2019-12119J; SAND--2020-3551J; 684998
• Journal Information: Optics Letters, Journal Name: Optics Letters Journal Issue: 7 Vol. 45; ISSN OPLEDP; ISSN 0146-9592
• Publisher: Optical Society of America (OSA)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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