Guiding of high intensity ultrashort laser pulses in plasma channels produced with the dual laser pulse Ignitor-Heater technique

Journal Article · Mon Jul 12 04:00:00 EDT 1999 · AIP Conference Proceedings

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.58867· OSTI ID:21205394

Volfbeyn, P; Leemans, W P ^[1]

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1. LBNL, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States)

We present results of experimental investigations of laser guiding in plasma channels. A new technique for plasma channel creation, the Ignitor-Heater scheme is proposed and experimentally tested in hydrogen and nitrogen. It makes use of two laser pulses. The Ignitor, an ultrashort (<100 fs) laser pulse, is brought to a line focus using a cylindrical lens to ionize the gas. The Heater pulse (160 ps long) is used subsequently to heat the existing spark via inverse Bremsstrahlung. The hydrodynamic shock expansion creates a partially evacuated plasma channel with a density minimum on axis. Such a channel has properties of an optical waveguide. This technique allows creation of plasma channels in low atomic number gases, such as hydrogen, which is of importance for guiding of highly intense laser pulses. The channel density was diagnosed with time resolved longitudinal interferometry. From these measurements the plasma temperature was inferred. The guiding properties of the channels were tested by injecting a >5x10{sup 17} W/cm{sup 2}, 75 fs laser pulse.

• OSTI ID: 21205394
• Journal Information: AIP Conference Proceedings, Journal Name: AIP Conference Proceedings Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 472; ISSN APCPCS; ISSN 0094-243X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
BEAM-PLASMA SYSTEMS
BREMSSTRAHLUNG
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
HEATERS
HYDROGEN
INTERFEROMETRY
ION TEMPERATURE
LASER RADIATION
LASERS
NITROGEN
OPTICAL SYSTEMS
PHOTON BEAMS
PLASMA
PLASMA EXPANSION
PULSES
TIME RESOLUTION
WAKEFIELD ACCELERATORS
WAVEGUIDES