Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 19: Erzeugung ultrakurzer Lichtimpulse
Q 19.2: Talk
Tuesday, March 20, 2007, 10:45–11:00, 5K
Circular phase mask for control and enhancement of femtosecond optical filamentation — •Thomas Pfeifer1,2, Lukas Gallmann1,2, Mark J. Abel1,2, Phillip M. Nagel1,2, Daniel M. Neumark1,2, and Stephen R. Leone1,2 — 1Departments of Chemistry and Physics, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA — 2Chemical Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Optical filamentation is an interesting alternative to gas-filled hollow-core fibers for applications in supercontinuum generation and pulse compression to the few-cycle limit. The output characteristics of the optical filamentation process are critically dependent on the stability of the laser system and spatial quality of the laser beam. Imprinting circular phase masks onto the beam prior to filamentation can be used to improve crucial characteristics of the optical filaments: spectral bandwidth and beam pointing stability [1]. A simulation was developed which indicates that the imprinted phase mask could result in a better pointing stability after the filament than the pointing of the laser beam that produced it.
Ref.: [1] T. Pfeifer et al., Opt. Lett. 31, 2326 (2006).