Formation and propagation of meter-scale laser filaments in water

We report the demonstration, characterization, and modeling of meter-scale underwater optical filaments using a nanosecond pulsed laser. We observed single filament formation for P/PCRIT = 1–5, where PCRIT ∼ 1 MW in water. We employed a variable distance water tube to characterize laser pulse evolut...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2013-09, Vol.103 (12)
Main Authors: Helle, M. H., Jones, T. G., Peñano, J. R., Kaganovich, D., Ting, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We report the demonstration, characterization, and modeling of meter-scale underwater optical filaments using a nanosecond pulsed laser. We observed single filament formation for P/PCRIT = 1–5, where PCRIT ∼ 1 MW in water. We employed a variable distance water tube to characterize laser pulse evolution and filament formation. Filaments with uniform radius 50 ± 10 μm persisted for 55 cm (>35 Rayleigh lengths). Significant forward Stimulated Raman Scattering (up to 60%) was observed and characterized. Simulation results for propagation distances and radii were in agreement with experiment, and predict a structured plasma with peak density of 1.5 × 1018 cm−3.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.4821447