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Optics Express

Optics Express

  • Editor: C. Martijn de Sterke
  • Vol. 19, Iss. 17 — Aug. 15, 2011
  • pp: 15919–15928

Optics InfoBase > Optics Express > Volume 19 > Issue 17 > Page 15919

Controlling the length of plasma waveguide up to 5 mm, produced by femtosecond laser pulses in atomic clustered gas

Walid Tawfik Mohamed, Guanglong Chen, Jaehoon Kim, Geng Xiao Tao, Jungkwen Ahn, and Dong Eon Kim  »View Author Affiliations


Optics Express, Vol. 19, Issue 17, pp. 15919-15928 (2011)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.19.015919


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Abstract

We report the observation of longitudinally uniform plasma waveguide with a controlled length of up to nearly 5 mm, in argon clustered gas jet. This self-channeling plasma is obtained using a 35 mJ, 30 fs FWHM pulse as a pump laser pulse to create the plasma channel. A 1 mJ pulse of the same laser is used for probing the plasma channels using interferometric diagnostics. The radial distribution of the electron density confirms the formation of a plasma waveguide. Clustered argon enhances the absorption efficiency of femtosecond pulses which enables the use of pump pulses of only 35 mJ, approximately 10 times less energy than required for heating conventional gas targets. The plasma channel length is controlled by the laser focus point (F), the laser intensity (I), the pump-probe delay time (t) and the laser height from a nozzle (z). The variation of the electron density for these parameters is also studied. We found that the highest density of 1.2 x 1019 cm−3 was obtained at I = 5.2 x 1016 W/cm2, z = 2 mm and t = 7.6 ns. It was demonstrated that by using a clustered jet, both the plasma waveguide length and the plasma density could be controlled.

© 2011 OSA

OCIS Codes
(320.0320) Ultrafast optics : Ultrafast optics
(320.2250) Ultrafast optics : Femtosecond phenomena
(320.7100) Ultrafast optics : Ultrafast measurements

ToC Category:
Ultrafast Optics

History
Original Manuscript: June 7, 2011
Revised Manuscript: July 22, 2011
Manuscript Accepted: July 22, 2011
Published: August 4, 2011

Citation
Walid Tawfik Mohamed, Guanglong Chen, Jaehoon Kim, Geng Xiao Tao, Jungkwen Ahn, and Dong Eon Kim, "Controlling the length of plasma waveguide up to 5 mm, produced by femtosecond laser pulses in atomic clustered gas," Opt. Express 19, 15919-15928 (2011)
http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/abstract.cfm?URI=oe-19-17-15919


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