Large scale Tesla coil guided discharges initiated by femtosecond laser filamentation in air

The guiding of meter scale electric discharges produced in air by a Tesla coil is realized in laboratory using a focused terawatt laser pulse undergoing filamentation. The influence of the focus position, the laser arrival time, or the gap length is studied to determine the best conditions for effic...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 2014-07, Vol.116 (1)
Main Authors: Arantchouk, L., Point, G., Brelet, Y., Prade, B., Carbonnel, J., André, Y.-B., Mysyrowicz, A., Houard, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Electric discharges
Femtosecond pulses
Filaments
Lasers
Optics
Physics
Vibration
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Summary:The guiding of meter scale electric discharges produced in air by a Tesla coil is realized in laboratory using a focused terawatt laser pulse undergoing filamentation. The influence of the focus position, the laser arrival time, or the gap length is studied to determine the best conditions for efficient laser guiding. Discharge parameters such as delay, jitter, and resistance are characterized. An increase of the discharge length by a factor 5 has been achieved with the laser filaments, corresponding to a mean breakdown field of 2 kV/cm for a 1.8 m gap length. Consecutive guided discharges at a repetition rate of 10 Hz are also reported.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.4886582