Defocusing effects of a terawatt laser in an underdense plasma

Louis Andre Lompre; P. Monot; T. Auguste; Gerard L. Mainfray; Claude Manus

doi:10.1117/12.147586

8 July 1993 Defocusing effects of a terawatt laser in an underdense plasma

Louis Andre Lompre, P. Monot, T. Auguste, Gerard L. Mainfray, Claude Manus

Proceedings Volume 1860, Short-Pulse High-Intensity Lasers and Applications II; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.147586
Event: OE/LASE'93: Optics, Electro-Optics, and Laser Applications in Scienceand Engineering, 1993, Los Angeles, CA, United States

Abstract

The defocusing of a 1053 nm, 1-ps laser pulse focused in a cell filled with different noble gases has been studied in the 10 mbar to 1 bar pressure range. The focusing has been studied as a function of the gas pressure and of the incident laser power. The results clearly show that the beam tends to defocus as the incident power or the rare gas pressure are increased. The defocusing is interpreted as being due to the influence of the plasma refractive index: the radial profile of the electron distribution induces a minimum of the refractive index on the laser axis and consequently a refraction of the laser beam. The main and important consequence is that high laser intensities (10¹⁷ - 10¹⁸ W/cm²) and high electron densities (10¹⁹ - 10²⁰ cm^-3) cannot be achieved simultaneously with infrared laser radiation.

Citation Download Citation

Louis Andre Lompre, P. Monot, T. Auguste, Gerard L. Mainfray, and Claude Manus "Defocusing effects of a terawatt laser in an underdense plasma", Proc. SPIE 1860, Short-Pulse High-Intensity Lasers and Applications II, (8 July 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.147586

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