OSA's Digital Library

Optics Express

Optics Express

  • Editor: C. Martijn de Sterke
  • Vol. 17, Iss. 5 — Mar. 2, 2009
  • pp: 3190–3195

Optics InfoBase > Optics Express > Volume 17 > Issue 5 > Page 3190

Efficient third-harmonic generation through tailored IR femtosecond laser pulse filamentation in air

S. Suntsov, D. Abdollahpour, D. G. Papazoglou, and S. Tzortzakis  »View Author Affiliations


Optics Express, Vol. 17, Issue 5, pp. 3190-3195 (2009)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.17.003190


View Full Text Article

Enhanced HTML    Acrobat PDF (305 KB)


Advanced Search

Browse Journals / Lookup Meetings

Browse by Journal and Year


   


Lookup Conference Papers

Close Browse Journals / Lookup Meetings

Article Tools

Share
Citations

Abstract

The process of third-harmonic generation during the filamentation of intense IR femtosecond laser pulses in air is investigated experimentally. It is shown that the introduction of a thin plasma string created by another femtosecond pulse, perpendicularly to the filament’s path, dramatically reshapes the third-harmonic beam into a Bessel-like far-field distribution, while at the same time significantly enhances, up to 250 times, its conversion efficiency.

© 2009 Optical Society of America

OCIS Codes
(190.2620) Nonlinear optics : Harmonic generation and mixing
(190.5940) Nonlinear optics : Self-action effects
(320.2250) Ultrafast optics : Femtosecond phenomena
(320.7110) Ultrafast optics : Ultrafast nonlinear optics

ToC Category:
Nonlinear Optics

History
Original Manuscript: November 30, 2008
Revised Manuscript: January 16, 2009
Manuscript Accepted: January 16, 2009
Published: February 17, 2009

Citation
S. Suntsov, D. Abdollahpour, D. G. Papazoglou, and S. Tzortzakis, "Efficient third-harmonic generation through tailored IR femtosecond laser pulse filamentation in air," Opt. Express 17, 3190-3195 (2009)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-17-5-3190


Sort:  Author  |  Year  |  Journal  |  Reset  

References

  1. A. Couairon and A. Mysyrowicz, "Femtosecond filamentation in transparent media," Phys. Rep. 441, 47-189 (2007). [CrossRef]
  2. S. Backus, J. Peatross, Z. Zeek, A. Rundquist, G. Taft, M. M. Murnane, and H. C. Kapteyn, "16-fs, 1-µJ ultraviolet pulses generated by third-harmonic conversion in air," Opt. Lett. 21, 665-667 (1996). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  3. A. B. Fedotov, N. I. Koroteev, M. M. T. Loy, X. Xiao, and A. M. Zheltikov, "Saturation of third-harmonic generation in a plasma of self-induced optical breakdown due to the self-action of 80-fs light pulses," Opt. Commun. 133, 587-595 (1997). [CrossRef]
  4. J. Peatross, S. Backus, J. Zhou, M. M. Murnane, and H. C. Kapteyn, "Spectral-spatial measurements of fundamental and third-harmonic light of intense 25-fs laser pulses focused in a gas cell," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 15, 186-192 (1998). [CrossRef]
  5. M. L. Naudeau, R. J. Law, T. S. Luk, T. R. Nelson, S. M. Cameron, and J. V. Rudd, "Observation of nonlinear optical phenomena in air and fused silica using a 100 GW, 1.54 µm source," Opt. Express 14, 6194-6200 (2006). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  6. N. Aközbek, A. Iwasaki, A. Becker, M. Scalora, S. L. Chin, and C. M. Bowden, "Third-Harmonic Generation and Self-Channeling in Air using High-Power Femtosecond Laser Pulses," Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 143901 (2002). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  7. F. Théberge, N. Aközbek, W. Liu, J.-F. Gravel, and S. L. Chin, "Third-harmonic beam profile generated in atmospheric air using femtosecond laser pulses," Opt. Commun. 245, 399-405 (2005). [CrossRef]
  8. F. Théberge, N. Aközbek, W. Liu, J. Filion, and S. L. Chin, "Conical emission and induced frequency shift of third-harmonic generation during ultrashort laser filamentation in air," Opt. Commun. 276, 298-304 (2007). [CrossRef]
  9. H. Xiong, H. Xu, Y. Fu, Y. Cheng, Z. Xu, and S. L. Chin, "Spectral evolution of angularly resolved third-order harmonic generation by infrared femtosecond laser-pulse filamentation in air," Phys. Rev. A 77, 043802 (2008). [CrossRef]
  10. C. W. Siders, N. C. TurnerIII, and M. C. Downer, A. Babine, A. Stepanov, and A. M. Sergeev, "Blue-shifted third-harmonic generation and correlated self-guiding during ultrafast barrier suppression ionization of subatmospheric density noble gases," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 13, 330-335 (1996). [CrossRef]
  11. H. R. Lange, A. Chiron, J.-F. Ripoche, A. Mysyrowicz, P. Breger, and P. Agostini, "High-Order Harmonic Generation and Quasiphase Matching in Xenon Using Self-Guided Femtosecond Pulses," Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1611-1613 (1998). [CrossRef]
  12. N. Kortsalioudakis, M. Tatarakis, N. Vakakis, S. D. Moustaizis, M. Franco, B. Prade, A. Mysyrowicz, N. A. Papadogiannis, A. Couairon, and S. Tzortzakis, "Enhanced harmonic conversion efficiency in the self-guided propagation of femtosecond ultraviolet laser pulses in argon," Appl. Phys. B 80, 211-214 (2005). [CrossRef]
  13. G. Marcus, A. Zigler, and Z. Henis, "Third-harmonic generation at atmospheric pressure in methane by use of intense femtosecond pulses in the tight-focusing limit," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 16, 792-800 (1999). [CrossRef]
  14. G. Mao, Y. Wu, and K. D. Singer, "Third harmonic generation in self-focused filaments in liquids," Opt. Express 15, 4857-4862 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  15. M. Kolesik, E. M. Wright, A. Becker, and J. V. Moloney, "Simulation of third-harmonic and supercontinuum generation for femtosecond pulses in air," Appl. Phys. B 85, 531-538 (2006). [CrossRef]
  16. M. Kolesik, E. M. Wright, and J. V. Moloney, "Supercontinuum and third-harmonic generation accompanying optical filamentation as first-order scattering processes," Opt. Lett. 32, 2816-2818 (2007). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  17. S. Tzortzakis, B. Lamouroux, A. Chiron, M. Franco, B. Prade, A. Mysyrowicz, and S. D. Moustaizis, "Nonlinear propagation of subpicosecond ultraviolet laser pulses in air," Opt. Lett. 25, 1270-1272 (2000). [CrossRef]
  18. S. Tzortzakis, B. Prade, M. Franco, and A. Mysyrowicz, "Time-evolution of the plasma channel at the trail of a self-guided IR femtosecond laser pulse in air," Opt. Commun. 181, 123-127 (2000). [CrossRef]
  19. S. Tzortzakis, M. A. Franco, Y.-B. André, A. Chiron, B. Lamouroux, B. S. Prade, and A. Mysyrowicz, "Formation of a conducting channel in air by self-guided femtosecond laser pulses," Phys. Rev. E 60, R3505-07 (1999). [CrossRef]
  20. D. G. Papazoglou and S. Tzortzakis, "In-line holographic microscopy for the characterization of ultrafast laser induced perturbations in transparent media," Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 041120 (2008). [CrossRef]
  21. A. B. Fedotov, S. M. Gladkov, N. I. Koroteev, and A. M. Zheltikov, "Highly efficient frequency tripling of laser radiation in a low-temperature laser-produced gaseous plasma," J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 8, 363-366 (1991). [CrossRef]
  22. T. Y. F. Tsang, "Optical third-harmonic generation at interfaces," Phys. Rev. A 52, 4116-4125 (1995). [CrossRef] [PubMed]
  23. D. Stoker, M. F. Becker, and J. W. Keto, "Optical third-harmonic generation using ultrashort pulses," Phys. Rev. A 71, 061802(R) (2005). [CrossRef]

Cited By

 Alert me when this paper is cited

OSA is able to provide readers links to articles that cite this paper by participating in CrossRef's Cited-By Linking service. CrossRef includes content from more than 3000 publishers and societies. In addition to listing OSA journal articles that cite this paper, citing articles from other participating publishers will also be listed.

Figures

Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3.
 
Fig. 4.
 

« Previous Article  |  Next Article »

OSA is a member of CrossRef.

CrossCheck Deposited